Face of Destiny
by Ruedivine
Summary: Betrayed, the Black lion Knights are massacred for greed and power. Their Lord saves his only son, who will rise to become a legend.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Shadows danced along the walls swerving against the warm light coming of the opaque white curtains floating slowly onto the ground, burning up until smoking unrecognizable pieces was all that was left. His eyes followed the lights dazedly, trying to understand why his head hurt, why he throbbed so much, why he was so cold. That is until he heard him calling him and a few seconds later saw his face above his own.

"Akira? Akira, son, look at daddy." The gentle strained voice caught his attention and he blinked, focusing his senses on the man who was lifting him up off the cold floor. Tears made their way down his face, following the still wet paths of the ones before.

"I'm here, I'm here." Kiyoshi Kogane looked at his bleeding four year old who was crying his little heart out on his shoulder. His little body was cold, bleeding from the multiple cuts oozing blood on his back. His cotton shirt was sticking onto his back, blood mixed with dried mud and who knows what else. His dark hair lay in jagged clumps on his head, apparently cut off with a knife. His little feet were barefoot and bruised, obvious signs of countless hours of running. Kiyoshi was furious. He felt his blood boil and pound in his head until all he felt was rage. What stopped him from hunting down the bastard who had betrayed him was the child in his arms.

Kiyoshi's heart broke even more every time his son let out a sob.

He quickly took off his heavy woolen cloak and tucked it around his frightened son. He lifted him into his arms, adjusting his sword and exited the burning kitchen, leaving behind the engulfed building that used to be his home. Swords clashing and shouts were the sounds that greeted him as soon as he stepped into the courtyard, his men clashing swords with their very own friends and for what? One man's lust for power. He quickly bundled his son to his chest and raced through the fighting throng until he made it to the gate unhindered until he saw his way was blocked by the very man who had destroyed their home and their peace.

"I knew if I was patient enough you'd show up, my Lord. Akira was gracious enough to entertain me during your delay." Aidan sneered, a smirk finding its way onto his lips. His green eyes never left the grey pools that belong to his one-time schoolmate, friend and now rival. He laughed, cackling when he heard the scream from the bundle in the other man's arms.

Kiyoshi unconsciously tightened his hold around the coat, wordlessly apologizing to his son for everything he had to go through. His eyes burned with fury as they stared at Aidan. His 6 foot 1 slim build was clad in pristine silver armor, a billowing red cloak around his broad shoulders and his chestnut hair barely touching it. In his hands he held a broadsword, and though Kiyoshi knew Aidan was good with it, he was better.

"I'll make you pay for everything you've done, Aidan. You think that forcing your way into this place will make my people acknowledge you, you're wrong."

"I don't want your people's acknowledgement. I want their submission. Their total surrender. That," he added, thrusting his arm out pointing at the fighting throng, "Or their total annihilation." He shifted his hand back and placed it on his sword, staring blankly at his foe.

"Give me the Black lion and these people will be spared. There's no need for any more bloodshed tonight."

"Never. I will never allow you to use him to destroy everything our kingdoms have built. You spit on the legacy of my great grandfather, of Ariella and that of the other kingdoms because you seek the lions. The Black chose to be here, it has entrusted us with keeping Arus together. I won't let you destroy our world, Aidan."

"And how do you intend to stop me? Once the Black lion Lord falls the other kingdoms will crumble. The Fire kingdom will be my next challenge after this, then again Hunter is as stubborn as you. Once I have all five lions the world will be under my control. I'll be supreme ruler and Zarcon can once again enjoy his reign in the sun."

Shocked, Kiyoshi couldn't believe the stupidity of the man. He was about to unleash a menace so evil to stroke his ego.

"You fool!", he shouted. The clambering throng behind them stopped mid strike at his shout, suddenly drawn in by the urgency of the Lord's voice.

"You traded our lives for a throne you can never sit on? Do you think that once you possess the lions Zarcon will let you live? Will let anyone live? Why would he let his marionette rule when he can do it himself? Given the chance he is going to march and destroy all of Arus! The seal to the other world cannot be lifted!"

The men looked at each other, hesitant to throw the next blow considering what had just been said, looking warily at each other. Aidan smiled slowly at Kiyoshi, the feeling never reaching his cold green eyes as he said coldly, "What if it already has?"

…

A man clad in a dark blue hakama and gi raced his way through the stock still fighters and stopped beside his cousin, eyeing Aidan in disbelief. The shock of the news still hadn't passed Kiyoshi.

"What did you do? You told me that to protect Altaire we have to free the Black lion and use it to stop the other kingdoms coming to war. You showed me the army of Lartis forming on our Eastern border!"

Kiyoshi stared at his cousin in shock. Although not related by blood, his father had taken Takahiro in and raised him in the same castle, with the same hand that fed them was the closest he had to a brother. And he had betrayed him.

Takahiro had been played.

"Why?" It was a simple question yet Kiyoshi couldn't believe the answer was that simple.

"I wanted to protect Altaire. Our home. But you were reluctant. Do you know what will happen when the other kingdoms decide to fight us. We have no defense against them. What will set us apart from them is if we get the lions and unite them…"

"The other kingdoms do not attack us because we protect the peace. The lions protect each kingdom, Takahiro. There is no war between kingdoms unless you seek on. And you have sought one."

Takahiro shook his head, stubborn to the core. "No, you just can't see it Kiyoshi because you're blinded by stories. The lions are a blessing, yes, but they are our security."

"They have a will, Taka. And they will never obey one man's desires, let alone evil. You're the one that's been blinded." Kiyoshi said, eyes blazing at the betrayal.

"I'll protect Altaire. I'll take…" Takahiro didn't finish his sentence as Kiyoshi struck him across the face with his sheathed katana. He leaned over his fallen cousin in disbelief, asking vehemently. "You'll protect Altaire, just like you protected its sole prince while he was being tortured _. My Son_ , Takahiro. My Son!"

Takahiro had the shame to look guilty. He had been there when Kiyoshi first met Anastasia at a fair. He had watched his cousin fall in love, get married and care for his pregnant wife. When she had gone into labor with Akira he was at Kiyoshi's side. It was difficult but after so much pain he heard the first cries of his nephew, and when he was called to meet him for the first time he saw that he had his mother's obsidian eyes. The same eyes of that woman closed that day when she made him promise to take care of her men.

And those eyes shed countless tears because of him. He was ashamed.

"Now you know that loyalties can easily be bought. It's such a shame you're so trusting Kiyo-chan. Maybe you'll learn that in your next life!"

With that, Aidan suddenly lifted his sword into the air and arrows started raining down in the courtyard. The light from the fires around them couldn't reveal where their enemies were and men were crying out in pain, steel stems protruding from their limbs.

Kiyoshi jumped through the broken window of the watch house that lay next to the gate, folding his body carefully around the precious bundle in his arms, weaving past the broken shingles that were falling due to the burning roof. He heard Takahiro call his name before he cried out as an arrow struck his shoulder. Aidan was screaming for his bowmen to kill him before he escaped. He broke through the back door of the guardhouse, jumped onto stacked water barrels and rounded back toward the burning building. He heard arrows zip past his head and hit the walls behind him but he didn't stop. The men who had returned to the castle with him followed a distance behind him, shielding him as best they could with their own bodies. Kiyoshi continued to run against the wall until he encounters the stables. He opened shut the door behind him and looked at his prized breed. The horses were petrified, kicking stable doors trying to escape the fire that had started to engulf the stables. He rushed through, opening the doors one after the other until he came to a beautiful white mare. He soothed her as best he could, climbed onto her back and kicked her hard, sending her vaulting out of the stables causing the other horses to stampede out of the stable.

Aidan was shouting orders at his men, insulting them for letting Kiyoshi escape that he barely had the time to jump out of the way of the stampede.

"Kiyoshi!" he screamed, watching his hope at supremacy dash away. Arrows rained after the man, but he had disappeared into the night.


	2. Four years later

A/N: Sorry for the late update, guys. Master's thesis plus job hunting equals no fun. I'm going to update as often as I can. English is my second language, by the way. Am sorry for the mistakes in Chapter 1, I typed it on my phone's Office Pro. Thanks for the great reviews!

 **Chapter 2**

Alfor's eyes followed the swans that swam in the large pond, necks craned majestically as they preened and smoothed their feathers, before slowly extending their pristine, white wings and flapping as if to boast to the world on their beauty. He wondered if he would be able to keep such heavenly creatures safe on this chaotic world. He wondered if he could keep such pleasant, clear, beautiful days safe from the horror that was mounting this beautiful planet.

A sudden movement caught his eye from behind the white rose bushes a few paces from the pond. He could see a golden head moving slowly along the length of the bushes, cautious in its gestures and movements as it lifted slightly to peek over at the pond. He watched the figure for some time before he saw it disappear again as if startled behind the bushes again.

"Princess!"

"Princess Allura! Your Highness!"

He watched as the girl's nanny and two maids made their way slowly toward the rows of rose bushes. The little gold head, sensing their presence nearing, started moving away from the three, head securely tucked under the bushes as insurance. Unfortunately, she did not see the man waiting for her as she turned a right turn along her path, bumping head first into his booted legs. Alfor tried not to laugh at his daughter's plight as she was caught by his advisor and oldest friend, and the ladies searching for her. He could faintly see the frown on her otherwise flawless face as she realized her escape from Etiquette and Diplomacy class had been impeded.

"King Alfor!"

A voice cut through his private drama and he turned from the large windows that made up the walls of their meeting hall to look at his colleagues. The council of Arus was made up of the noble leaders of their planet. Five continental provinces represented by 25 delegates, all vying for a control, all yearning dominion. He found it tiring. Alfor, descendent of Ariella Raimon, the first blue lion knight and first Queen of a United Arus, _hated_ politics.

"My Lords," he began, after taking his place back on the throne, " instead of arguing about who failed in defending the Eastern province or who should be stripped of power, we have to come to terms with the situation at hand. We have lost over a fifth of Arus's population to the Aidan's forces and the Drules in the last four years since Lord Kogane went missing. As it stands, they are gaining momentum and they are capable of attacking any province at any time. They know our tactics, courtesy of Aidan. They probably even know that right now, we are sitting here arguing and they are laughing behind our backs."

The council members looked at each other in silence, some in acceptance of this fact and others in denial.

"Then we surrender."

Gasps of disbelief echoed in the room as everyone turned to nobleman Brisal. The shallowest, most conniving, single handedly most greedy man in the room, he continued his weasel, pin prick blue eyes landed on the councilmen one by one, memorizing their expressions as he slowly rubbed his fat hand on his protruding belly.

"Yes. We surrender. If the Drules continue to advance, we lose territory, property and everything we have built since they were sealed in their dimension. Do you know how much my province has lost in this war alone? I dare say, if we can't beat them, why not join them."

"And what about the cost of human life? How much do you think a tub of lard like you is worth? How do we weigh you, huh? The amount you take in versus the shit you produce?!", interjects Vatra province's Lord Hunter McClain.

"How dare you ins…" Brisal did not have the chance to finish what he was saying as he was tugged roughly by the collar by Lord Hunter across the table until his pudgy, red, sweaty face was millimeters from the lord's face. No one dared to stop him as they knew how harsh the backlash of his fiery personality would be. His strength as one of the descendants of the Lion Knights was unquestionable, his fiery red hair proof of his lineage. It was the uncharacteristic cold tone that he used in that moment that petrified the other men in the room, all except the King.

" If you dare try to betray this planet, these kingdoms, me or the memory of the man I once called my brother, I will destroy every little ant, weed and lice along with everything you own before I gut you like a pig and feed you your own innards. Do you understand me?"

Brisal was shaking so much, eyes wide in despair as he realized the man that held him meant every little word he said. He nodded his head quickly, desperate to loosen the tightening around his throat. His face met the hardwood surface as he was unceremoniously released. After dragging himself to his seat, no one daring to assist him as he did so, Alfor again addressed the deathly quiet room.

" If Arus is to survive…no… If our families are to survive, we have to make our decisions henceforth with the intention of protecting our future. "

Alfor took his time to look at his council, watching as the weight of his words affected his comrades.

"We became complacent whilst the Drules bid their time and amassed an army, not to fight with. They have one goal in mind. Annihilation." He watched as the grim truth settled on them.

Hunter spoke after a long while, silently flexing his right hand, the only sign that he was anxious about something.

" Surrender isn't an option. Neither is fighting as we are now. We won't win on the ground or in the air. What say you, my King?" he asked quietly

"We retreat. We go underground. Build our defenses from there. Train our men from there. Protect our families from there. As it stands, anything above ground will be razed by Zarcon's condensed lasers. The atmosphere of this world will be destroyed and the water polluted to the point that no human can survive. Only the Drule will walk this surface."

" Won't going underground trap us instead, my Lord? They'll come after us for sure and then what?", another member of the council asked. Concerned murmuring sounds around the table, questions asked in hushed tones.

" It is a risk we'll have to take. According to past records in the archive, drule physiology isn't compatible with being underground for extensive periods of time. It is because of the healing properties within the earth. What we consider therapeutic for us is deadly to them. They are razed with madness if they are underground. It is also the explanation as to why they destroy so much of a world's surface.", Lady Serena added.

"So we need to build an entire civilization whilst defending our backs at the same time? Talk about a rock and a hard place." Lord Myria, the oldest member of the council adds, significantly lifting the mood of the room.

" This would be easier if the Lions were in play.", he adds, looking between the King and Lord McClain.

" That is the other reason why we need to go underground. When the lions choose their knights the Drules will do anything to destroy them and the chosen ones. If the lions are destroyed, then there is no hope. No matter where we run.", Lady Serena says, in agreement.

"With the betrayal on the Kogane family, we don't know who will inherit the title as the new Lord. And as long as we don't know, there is no Voltron."

"One step at a time, young ones. One step is all it takes to make a difference. First, let's do what needs to be done. Build underground. When the time comes, all will be in place for Voltron's resurrection. One step." Lord Myria says.

….

After their life altering meeting, the council meeting ends, leaving Lord Mclain and the King alone.

"You know, your Majesty, you can't hide the truth about Allura forever." Hunter says, leaning back in his chair in the now empty council chambers.

"You're using formal titles now?"

"Don't try to change the subject."

Alfor sighs in resignation as he walks back to the window he had looked out from before. After what seems like an eternity, he responds to his friend's question.

"I wish it wasn't true. My baby girl has to carry such a huge burden and fight the very monsters she hides from every night under her blanket. She's my girl, Hunter."

"Would it have made it easier if it were one of your boys?", Hunter asks.

Alfor laughs quietly as he turns to look at his friend.

"Would it be easier if it were _your_ son?

"Ha!", Hunter laughs in mock scorn. "That one can't wait to have one over me. He'll gloat until I kick the bucket."

"And I wonder where he got his personality from?"

"Shut up!"

Alfor laughs at his friend's behavior, fully aware of how much hell his friend's son could raise at any given moment. Like father, like son."

"Don't worry about Allura, Alfor. She's as tough as her three brothers. Baby of the family or not, she will raise hell as a knight. Just be her father for as long as possible."

"I know. I'll try."

The legend of the heroic lion knights who formed the mighty robot Voltron is passed down through every Arusian family, bearing with it hope for the Destined 5. An honor and a curse. One Alfor wished had passed his daughter. That night, when she was two, she woke up screaming and inconsolable. He, his wife and almost everyone in the castle had rushed to the princess's bed chamber, petrified that some harm had befallen her. Doctor Gorma, the royal physician, found nothing wrong with her. It was after a scared guard had come crashing into the royal suite in panic did it all make sense. The guard had been on his routine check of the castle boundary when he noticed there was something wrong. Alfor left with Coran and the Royal Guard, crossing the castle bridge before he stopped half way.

The water in the lake before the castle was swirling in a gigantic whirlpool. Droplets of water were in mid air, suspended. It was looking atop the very eye of an underwater hurricane. He had never seen anything more magnificent and terrifying in his entire life. They stood there, unable to move for almost another minute before the whirlpool dissipated, waters rolling against the lake shoreline in massive waves. The suspended water splashed back into the lake as well, and settled as if nothing had occurred.

The King and his men all went back into the castle, only to find the princess sound asleep in her mother's arms. Everyone believed that disturbance had terrified the baby princess. But he knew the truth.

It was all her.


	3. Coming to a head

**Chapter 3**

Edward Graham watched his ward sleeping under the giant maple from his backyard window. The summer heat was enough to slay his usually disciplined and strong headed ward's staunch resolve to stay inside and read when the weather was so nice. It couldn't be helped.

'Soon there won't be such great weather to enjoy.' He thought to himself.

His eyes turned back to the visibly red cover of the book on the twelve year old's chest and sighed. He knew the book was on Advanced Physics, one he had been forced to buy because of the boy's unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Eight years ago when he had first brought the boy to his home, he found him cowered in the corner of his living room. The fear etched in the four year old's obsidian eyes spoke volumes on the unspeakable trauma he had obviously gone through. He remembered that night oh so clearly.

" _Idiots. They think they can get away with stealing from me." Graham thought as he trampled his way through the deep mountain forest, tracking the three men who'd run away with his money and the swords he'd sold them._

" _I'll make them squeal for their mothers by the time I'm through with them." He said, mumbling as he went along. The full moon of that night made it easier to track the hoof prints and the broken twigs on the damp earth of the forest floor. He knew he'd catch up to them by morning._

 _Taking a slight detour in order to fill his canister with some fresh water from a nearby stream, shock shot through him as his eyes met a horrific sight._

 _Lying on the ground near a moss covered rock outcrop was a cut up, wet, bleeding man curled up on his side. He was not moving, and Graham, against his better judgement, decided to check on him._

' _Must have rolled down from the top of the mountain.' He thought to himself as he looked up at the broken shrubs and branches above where he stood looking over at the man. Bandits, most likely. There was no way to survive such a fall from that height._

 _As he turned to walk away, he heard a small sound come from the man. He suddenly turned back him and crouched closer to him._

" _Please…" It was a barely a breath of a whisper._

 _Graham saw the arrow protruding from the man's chest and the blood surrounding it. This man didn't have much time left. His lung had collapsed._

" _Don't stress yourself, friend. It'll be over soon." He told him. No one deserved to die alone. Military life had taught him that._

" _My son…please…" The man spoke again. Barely moving to uncurl himself, Graham saw the stained dark blue robe bundled protectively to the dying man's chest. The man slowly pulled the robe down to reveal a mass of dark hair. Graham carefully checked the child, believing he was dead, and was relieved to see that he was breathing. His warm breath proof of the life still in him A small miracle considering the state of the man that held him._

" _Please, protect him. He's all I'm leaving behind…" The little boy stirred and whimpered in his father's arms. He turned his obsidian eyes to the man holding him, to Graham and back to the man holding him. He started crying when he saw his father crying._

" _Gomen, Akira. Daddy has to go…" the man whispered. The little boy's quiet cries became gut-wrenching sobs as he felt his father slip away from him._

" _Don't cry. Please, don't cry…"_

Graham's eyes landed back on the boy outside. He had grown in the last eight years and gaining his trust had been a huge factor in seeing him open up. He had let the boy cry for his father for hours, begging him to wake up when the man was already gone. After he had exhausted himself, Graham had convinced the boy to help him bury his father in the shadow of those rocks. His little hands did not tire and neither did he say a word as they worked quietly. After piling on the last of the rocks, Graham said a little prayer and carried the little boy home.

It had been a fight to give the boy a bath and cut his mattered hair as he proved he did not want to be touched. Eating had been no problem as the child had been starving. He was a novice when it came to children, but torture? No. He knew the signs. The cuts on the boy's back spoke volumes as to the monster he had been freed from. He was sure the man in the forest was the child's father. The unruly, midnight black hair, the physical appearance and the love between the two was pretty clear. But the answers he sort were in the little boy.

After weeks of responding to hand signs from the boy, one morning whilst he was watching him eat he started digging.

" _You know you're going to have to speak to me sometime. I'm your guardian, not by choice, I might add."_

 _The boy froze for a second, eyes still on his plate of eggs before he continued to eat. Graham sighed. He knew getting up this little mountain was going to be difficult. Very well._

" _Why did your father hurt you?"_

 _He heard the clanging sound of metal hitting the floor. The kid had dropped his fork. Graham did not look up as he continued to sip his coffee, leaning on the counter nonchalantly._

" _Most fathers that I know take care of their kids, not travel in dangerous places with the…"_

" _My daddy was the best! He didn't hurt me, so don't lie about him!" Graham looked up to see the furious four year old standing from his makeshift seat, that was overturned, with blazing eyes. His little face was red and puffed from the anger he felt and his dark eyes were gleaming with unshed tears._

" _Then why were you in the forest with him?"_

 _The little body crumpled onto the floor as the tears he had been holding back got the best of him. From the mouth of a little boy, Graham heard the all too familiar tale of power, deception, pain and betrayal. He was quick to catch the name of Sir Aidan, and it left a bad taste in his mouth._

" _What did they want?", he asked the little boy._

" _I don't know. They wanted something daddy had. He said he would stop cutting me if daddy gives him." The little voice huffed between breaths._

" _Him? Who's him? Aidan?" He knew the little boy was exhausted, but dragging this out would affect him more than just letting it all out there. He was still a child and all this pent up emotion wasn't good for the boy._

" _Kuro."_

 _Graham was confused. Who the hell was Kuro and why was that man willing to risk his son to save him? His understanding of Japanese was extremely limited considering how often he had travelled to the Eastern provinces. Why was this Kuro so important anyway? There were too many questions and he doubted that this four year old child would know the answers._

" _Alright. It's okay. You're safe now." He said quietly and in what he hoped was a gentle, sympathetic tone. The little boy had calmed down a bit after that._

" _You know, I've been calling you 'boy' and 'kid' for the last few weeks and it's probably uncomfortable for you. More so for me. Your father called you Akira. Is that your name?" he asked quietly._

 _The little boy sniffed one last time and nodded._

" _Uh huh. My name is Akira Keith Kogane."_

A knock on the door disturbed his thoughts and he turned to see Sven, a friend of Keith at the door. The tall, dark haired, hazel eyed boy was the son of Sven Holgersson the Second, the nephew of Lady Serena Auschwitz, one of the Arusian council's members. Raised away from the politics that surrounded his family by his grandfather Sven Holgersson the First, he was a very down to earth young man and good company for Keith.

"He's sleeping out back." Graham said, not waiting for a greeting.

"Tell him I have an important meeting to attend and the two of you should behave whilst I'm away."

"Yes sir." Sven replied, jogging lightly as he went around to the garden.

…

"The world is definitely about to end. The brilliant Keith Graham, lounging in the afternoon, not reading, not practicing and not playing his piano. Yep. It's definately about to end." The thick accent broke through Keith's dozing, interrupting his peace afternoon.

"Haven't you heard, my friend. The world is coming to an end. For us any way. And I'm done reading for today because I had the spare time since the grouchy old man didn't want me to practice in the house and my sparring partner was late for practice, again. So let me sleep." Keith replied smugly, turning onto his side pretending to ignore his friend. The next thing he knew, he felt a weight across his side as Sven had decided to plop down and use Keith's side as a foot stool.

"Might as well join you then. Oh, your old man left. He said you should behave."

"Impossible with you around, dude."Keith said quietly, making it clear that he always got into trouble when Sven was around.

They had been friends since they were seven. Sven at the time was friends with Jeff Aki, the village bully and terrorist. Jeff's dislike for Keith was because of his apparent crush on Lisa who liked Keith and since Sven and Jeff were friends, this had brought the two together. Coming home from school one afternoon, Keith heard a loud crush near the lake. Curious, he'd gone over to check what had caused it, only to see the back of Jeff's tan jacket as he was running across the frozen lake back to town. Keith looked at a hole at the center of the lake and saw someone struggling. He went onto the lake and tried to help the person out before he also fell through the frozen ice. If it weren't for Graham who was coming from the house using the same path, they'd have died.

" _Next time you try to play hero, make sure that you can at least save yourself." Graham said to the two sniffing boys sitting in front of his fire buried under heaps of blankets._

"According to grandfather, we have to go under soon. The drules are said to heading our way." Sven said quietly to his friend.

Keith remained quiet for a bit, reflecting on the meaning of his friend's words. They had no choice in the matter. That much was obvious. He had felt the cost of this war and he knew that it would take great sacrifices in order to survive it.

He lifted himself into sitting position, passing a hand through his unruly shoulder length mane that had escaped its band, trying to keep it in check.

"We're running and hiding, but it won't be enough to stop the drules from hunting us down. We need to fight back to even survive this." He said, looking at Sven.

He was wearing a white gi and hakama just like him. As soon as Graham knew who he was, he started teaching Keith self-defence and enrolled him in other training with some of his military friends. Luckily for him, Keith loved martial arts since his father had started teaching him since he was three.

"I don't intend to hide forever, Keith. That's why I'm training to fight. At some point, they're not going to have enough men. I heard the desert people lost half of their forces in a single attack. Just one. They already are underground with only half of the people in the villages they expected to have. The royal family's three sons are said to have been on a mission there as emissaries for the King. No one knows whether they made it out or not."

"What we need is are the Lions. With their power we can stop this once and for all." Keith said vehemently, looking at the empty space beside him.

"You think the Voltron Lions exist? That's a joke. Where have they been up until now? Even if they did exist, Zarkon might have them." Sven said.

"No. They exist. If they didn't the King wouldn't have called for everyone to go underground. We would have fought this war out to the bitter end. And if Zarkon had them he would have used them against us already. Not only would it be a physical blow on our forces, but a blow on the people's hope. The King is biding his time. He's waiting for something." Keith said, strategies running through his mind.

"You believe in the legend that much, don't you? Well, I believe in this fist. The one in front of me that can break something. This fist is going to change the world, Keith. Not legends." Sven said

"I think this world needs both, my friend. It needs both." Keith replied, looking at the disturbed air beside him that was otherwise invisible to his friend.

…..

"We've done a full assessment of the all the catalogued goods and services within the underground bunkers and the caves. All of our preliminary security checks have been tried and tested up to seven times in the last week. All bulkheads, waterways, air pipes, and utility works have been rechecked. All water, air and energy purification systems are ready. We have established that our time of entry into the caves be two weeks." General Aki said to the town elders of his region.

Mumbling and quiet conversation could be heard in the large town hall of Dispa as they met for their weekly review. Lady Serena Auschwitz was also in attendance at the meeting, awaiting for the final report.

"Well, if there isn't any query, we can mov…"

"Don't you think waiting two weeks is stretching it?" Graham spoke up after what seemed like an eternity.

"I do not believe so, _Mr._ Graham. According to our scouts and the intel my men have gathered, it will take roughly one month before we can expect a drule attack on our villages," Aki said smugly, rolling up their bunker plan maps.

Graham and he went way back, to the jungle training and civic wars in the Southern provinces. Aki hated Graham's superior airs and even more so, the fact that he had been his General, who had put him in his place countless times.

"I don't agree," Graham countered. "According to such _intel_ , because of the location and barrenness of Lord Myria's province, it _should_ have been attacked last. But as we've all heard, they lost most of their defense and over half of the general population."

"Are you saying my intelligence is wrong?" questioned Aki, his annoyance quite obvious to everyone in the room. Graham couldn't have cared less.

"I suggest we err on the side of caution. If the bunkers are ready, why wait for the two weeks. Not only do we test out how we live down there, but it gives everyone the time to adapt. More importantly, there is a chance of an impending attack no matter how you look at it. We should have moved yesterday."

"Mr. Graham, as much we are looking forward to living in security, we want to spend as much time as possible on the surface. Who knows when we'll see the sun again" Old Betsy, Keith's third grade teacher chimed. She was smirking at him too.

"I say, the lady is right. Also, if the General's information is correct, we still have time. We have confidence in him. He'll protect us." A village elder said, a number of people nodding in approval of what he'd just said. Aki smirked when he saw that most of the people that mattered agreed with him. The days when people listened to Edward Graham had long gone.

Graham knew the fools would come to regret it sooner rather than later, but who was he to tell them to not waste their lives.

Lady Serena, who had been quiet up until this point, made her final decision.

"As happy as I am with the completion of the bunkers, I would like to stress why these were built in the first place. We are at war. We are being exterminated. We need to survive." Sweeping the grim looking room with a single glance, her gaze rested on Graham.

"I agree with you Graham that we do not know the drules' attack pattern up until this point. And if we wait, the chances of an attack are increasing at every moment. Therefore, I am going to respect the wishes of those who want to stay outside and those who will enter the bunker. There will be two groups. The first will enter the bunker in 24hrs. I believe all our citizens have been informed on having their provision bags packed. In 24 hours, one group will enter and will not leave the bunker under any circumstance as this could lead to vulnerabilities. The second, will enter if there is an attack any day after the first group, or in the two weeks stated."

Seeing no opposition to this statement, Lady Serena continues.

"A quarter of the guard is to enter the bunker as well as the administrators of the facilities. This is non-negotiable. All personnel involved in the bunkers are expected to be within the bunkers in 3 hours. Cave entrances only. Also I would urge everyone to encourage the elderly and the youngest of children to enter tomorrow. These would be our most casualties in an attack."

"The second most important thing on our agenda is the Lions of Voltron. As you may have heard, the rumors that their royal highnesses Prince Alistair, Prince Alaric and Prince Alexander have passed. It is true."

Shock at the news surged through the room, and a few tears could be seen. The people love the royal family and they are their guardians since ages unknown. The news had suddenly shifted focus onto the truth. They were at war. Seeing the room had calmed down, Lady Serena continues.

"The news is terrible, yes. But there is hope. His Majesty would like for you to know that the Blue Lion has chosen her half. It is her royal highness, Princess Allura."

"Is that really true, my lady? The lions are real?", voices could be heard around the room, questions flying toward her, too numerous to make sense of. Excitement permeated the atmosphere, cutting through the gloom.

"Let the lady speak!" cracked General Aki's voice throughout the room, instantly bringing the room to order.

"Yes. The Blue Lion appeared before the council next to the princess and swore fealty to her. She has been chosen for years, it appears. Not only that, but she has sworn to protect Arus against Zarkon and his people. Arus will be restored.

Unimaginable joy reigned throughout the room as people celebrated the return of their guardian protectors. Others were hugging and dancing, smiles and tears on many faces. Graham, however, was sitting quietly, contemplatively.

"The princess, she is only ten years old. How can she and the lion protect us? Won't they need the others?" Old Betsy asked, bringing with her airs of doubt. Everyone waited for her ladyship to speak.

"Yes. Her highness is ten. But with the blood of Ariella flowing in her veins and the wisdom of the lion, we pray she will be ready to protect Arus in a few years to come along with the other loins and the chosen four." Seeing the slight dampening of the joyous atmosphere, she gives them hope.

"The hope we need to take back our planet resides in the children we are trying to protect. Out of them, four more protectors will be chosen. It is their destiny. That is why I encourage you to love them. That is why we need to protect them with every breath we have."

 _Protect him_

Graham's eyes shot wide open as he heard the voice of the man he'd met only once. He shot up stiffly in his set, eyes wide open as he looked at the wall in front of him. Aki noticed his weird behavior, and so did her ladyship, apparently.

"Graham, are you alright?", she asked, quite concerned. Graham looked at the petite, long silver haired lady in front of him as if she had just sprouted horns and he was seeing it for the first time.

"My apologies, my lady. Please continue."


	4. Chapter 4

The writhing mass of bodies let out shouts and yells at the two figure circling each other in the dug out hole. The larger form slowed its movements, readying itself for its next attack. He swung his enormous right fist, aiming for his opponent only to miss as the small, lithe figure quickly ducked under his arm and proceeded to jab him in the side. Grunting from obvious pain, he hurled his 300 pound body across their ring toward the small figure, only to be side stepped and shoved into the wall. Roars from the crowd mixed with the roar of blood flowing in his head filled his ears.

The small figure waited for its opponent to shake off his dizziness before it quickly attacked, head on, and proceeded to kick him twice in the abdomen and punch him once in the face. The giant lumbering figure crashed onto the floor, completely unconscious.

The crowd above let out roars and whistles of their approval and screams of support at the end of the match. All matches in the Tomb were spectacular, and this one was no exception.

"Alright. Good ol' Lance loves his cash. Pay up.", a tall, brown haired, six foot one young man called to the crowd. He moved through them collecting coins, bottles of wine and kisses from the crowd. The standing figure in the pit shook its head and went over to the fallen man to check if he hadn't gotten seriously injured. Ensuring he was alright, she signaled to a few men to have him taken out of the hole before she followed them out.

"Great fight, Princess. He didn't stand a chance against you.", a huge dark haired guy said, helping her out.

"You should have seen his face when hit the wall…", a slim spectacled teenage laughed. "I recorded it and I'm gonna play it in the mess hall tonight."

"Don't come running to me when he comes after you, Pidge.", the Princess said, taking her jacket from one of them and a towel from the other.

"Please. What do you think I have Hunk for? Ultimate defense.", the teen said, pushing his glasses up his nose.

The Princess chuckled at her friend's audacity. No one went after Pidge. Small as he was, he could drop a squadron of men by himself and come back to play with his inventions right after. Besides, she could protect him along with the big guy Hunk and their resident Casanova slash Don Juan slash lothario and resident womanizer, Lance.

"Spectacular, Princess. I'm a few coins richer because of you, annnnnnd," Lance said, lifting up three bottles of wine, "we've got enough booze to get us wasted! Take that, Nanny!"

"She's right behind you."

Lance screamed running to hide behind the princess.

His three friends all laughed at his spontaneous boast against the Princess's Nanny and Lady in Waiting, Lady Hys, who had given the young man an embargo on her cellar, maids and kitchen. It had become a common occurrence to see the serious faced woman chase Lance with a rolling pin around the bunker.

The Chosen four left the cavern and went back to the residential area of the bunker and back to duty and responsibility. As they passed through the doors of the sanctum, their carefree attitudes remained in those caves as they morphed into the soldiers they were. For the Princess, into a sovereign.

"Your highness, sirs, his Majesty needs you to be in the Command Centre in half an hour. And Nanny needed to see you about your missed appointment with Lord Demarche, your Highness."

"The joys of Love." Lance says sarcastically after the messenger had left.

"Tell me about it." The Princess said, making her way to her suite to take a brisk shower before she meets her father. As the warm water soothed her sore muscles, her mind slipped back to the time when such a feat as fighting someone was an impossibility for her. In her 18 years of life she had changed in so many ways from the innocent little girl she was into a thinker, a fighter, a warrior. When the Blue lion first appeared to her at 10, she hadn't taken all the whispers of war and death seriously. She knew her mother had gone to heaven but what was this death they were talking about. Her father spent more and more time with Coran and the military and engineering advisors than with her but she never understood why. That was until the day she'd slipped out of the castle with Fluffy, her stuffed penguin, to follow the maids who had gone berry picking.

And two weeks later when the survivors of the desert province arrived with what was left of the mangled bodies of her three brothers. Her world shattered in the space of a few weeks, from rose filled gardens to mountains of corpses. What remained of the beauty she'd once known were ashes, toppled buildings and bones. She felt the ache of her people, her planet, her lion so deep within her heart, pounding with bruising ferocity at all the atrocities the Drules had brought on her people, that one day it drove her to the secret fighting hole known as the Tomb.

Princess Allura smiled a little as she tilted her head toward the spray. Her first time at the Tomb had been met with ridicule as seasoned fighters laughed at the sheltered little girl that had challenged one Hunter Mclain.

" _Princess, this isn't funny anymore. You don't belong here. Go back to Nanny before you get into trouble." the Lord General of her father's forces said._

" _No. I said I want to fight you. You're the best soldier I know and beating you means I can beat anything. I want to fight." she told him._

 _The Lord General looked the Princess over. Her hands were in little fists, at her side, so small he could crush them both in her in one hand with very little effort. Her little feet were spread apart in defiance, standing her ground_. She was being stubborn, as streak she'd inherited from her father.

" _No. I will not fight you, neither will I ever allow you to fight in this place. You are the Princes…"_

" _I am not just a Princess!" she screamed. The crowd was now tense as they watched their General narrow his eyes at the little girl, their monarch. No one disobeyed his orders, but this little girl was standing up to the man._

" _Then what are you? One of the Chosen? So is my son and he isn't in this pit. Tell me then." He shouted._

 _The entire room was completely silent, everyone waiting to hear what the little girl would say. They didn't notice their King standing a few feet behind the crowd. The little girl tensed some more before she took a deep breath and said:  
"I don't know. I'm the crown Princess because my brothers are gone and I didn't want them to leave me. I'm my daddy's daughter and the princess, but that's only half of who I am. That's all I know. I just want to know the other me."_

That day had been the day she had buried something that had been holding her back, and unearthed a new part of her. A stronger her. And since then she had buried more and more in that fight pit. The Tomb was a righteous name for that place.

Quickly getting ready for the meeting with her father, the princess put on a white vest and matching dark blue jacket and pants before shoving her feet into brown boots. Tying her long golden hair back into a bun, she checked her appearance over in her mirror before leaving her room. Moving through the fluorescent lit corridors, she made her way to the command center and made it just in time to see Hunk and Pidge entering. The Command Center, the hub of their planetary defense, intelligence and the communication center with all the provinces, was her father's base of operations. Gone were her father's royal robes, and in their place, a dark blue military uniform. To a daddy's girl like her, they could have been rags.

"Now that we are all here" the King said from his seat at the head of the long rectangular table, "let's begin." The King said, turning to Admiral Garrison.

….

The rhythm of a steady booted walk could be heard echoing the near empty hallways of the now overrun castle. Soldiers overturned pillars, statues and stonework, ripping potraits and setting aflame the famed history of the second strongest stronghold of their enemy. At the sight of their liege, the blue skinned, dark uniformed soldiers let out shouts of praise. The figure continued on his way to the dimly lit throne room and sat on the bloody vacated gold seat. The grotesque smoking head of the former occupant of that seat his footstool. The black acrid smoke of burning velvet, wood and leather, spiced with the almost choking stench of fire blackened flesh was the sweetest scent he'd ever smelt. Intoxicating. Virile. Bewitching. Flaring his nostrils as he inhaled the thick air, he could only describe it in one word:

"Beautiful."

Sitting alone inside the massive stone hall, the white haired, yellow eyed Prince felt a shiver of absolute pleasure pass right through him.

"You seem unusually happy, my Prince. Most unlike you indeed." a voice cackled from the mass of brown rags that had just appeared from the shadows a few steps behind him, almost melting into them.

Haggar, the cursed dark witch was an awful sight to behold, an achingly real nightmare that the Prince had been saddled with by his father. He always found it difficult to believe that she had once been one of the most beautiful women of their race. Lust for supremacy and the forbidden had ensnared her deeper and deeper into dark magic, ravaging her beauty and leaving only this dry husk, almost charcoal like woman. But at this moment, even her ugliness couldn't spoil the prince's triumphant mood.

"And why shouldn't I be, witch? I have accomplished in a day what my stupid father and the emperor couldn't achieve in their lifetimes. The fall of the second kingdom.", he said, stretching his immaculate hands out toward the burning bodies. He looked to the heavens and laughed at his cunning. He was brilliant and no one in the empire could doubt that. Starting to walk across the hall, he continues:

"Every Drule will shout my name in awe and bow before the most powerful man in the Empire. Countless more kingdoms will fall under this very foot, and when I am done, I will make the current empire look like a pebble in the mountain I'm going to build. Yes" he said, gleaming reptilian eyes flashing with confidence.

"But you went against his Majesty's orders. Your punishment will be severe..."but she was cut off.

"They won't do anything to me, the fools. Do you think that anyone could have destroyed Pollux? Hmm? Cossack? Thrack? Or maybe the traitorous human scum they all listen to?" he asked the witch, stopping and turning to look at her with all the flair of the crown prince of the 13th Drule kingdom of Doom, billowing red cape and all. He truly was a handsome man. A man who could wine and dine you before he flayed the vey flesh of your back while he sipped the finest of wines. She had witnessed the darkness in the young Prince's heart. His half human heritage seemed to intensify that darkness. Stunningly handsome, fiercely vile.

"The fall of Pollux will destroy these little animals' belief in hope, and by the time I'm done, I will have every drule and human at my feet, begging to lick my boots. Nothing can stop me."

"Voltron, my Prince." Haggar said, tearing off a bit of burnt flesh from a butchered soldier on the ground with her long claws, and feeding it to the blue cat in her arms.

"An old fable not worth mentioning, witch. It has been centuries since we were entrapped. We have outlived countless generations of these humans, bidding our time. If the robot still existed, wouldn't it have made an appearance by now?" he asked her.

"You might not believe in the story of Voltron, but remember this: magic runs through the very veins of this planet. Your father, the emperor and the other old generals know that if Voltron were to be brought back to life, our Freedom will be as fleeting as a candle in a typhoon. They faced the robot before, and it was your grandfather's flaws that resulted in our imprisonment. Your father executed him for the throne, but Voltron was too strong. The same pride that led to his downfall may lead you as well, my prince. That is why I serve you at his majesty's orders."

"'IF' your giant pest appears I will destroy it. The problem with my father is that he's senile. He relies on the words of the defectors that as long as he controls Voltron he will be the most powerful drule King, strong enough to overthrow the emperor. But he's wrong."

"You mean he will not be able to control it?" the witch inquired. Unlike his father who held on to the traditional style patterns of warfare, the Prince was something else. Something much more sinister.

"Yes," he answered as he stopped. "It will never allow him to. That is the strength of the beasts that form it. They are wild, untamed creatures and they will destroy themselves to protect that freedom. The captor included. But I don't intend to capture them. I will hunt them down and destroy them before they destroy me. That is the nature of the hunt. The nature of us beasts."

The old witch looked at the Prince and realized that he was more dangerous than anyone in the whole empire. But how would he do it?

"Bring the women to me. I intend to enjoy a bit of polluxian entertainment and the princess didn't give me a warm welcome." The man said, unfazed by their current discussion, effectively ending their talk.

"As you wish my prince." the old witch said, bowing and leaving the Prince, gesturing to the soldiers to lead the women, a blond haired 18 year old in front.

...,...


	5. Chapter 5

"We have Intel concerning one Zarkon's generals. According to our spies, the High General Thrack has been more active than usual on the ground than in the air. We've received images from one of our intel pools concerning his activities, even though not recent."

A holoimage appeared at the center of the table showing the image of a number of drule robot soldiers carrying large steel crates, and leading them were two very large, drule soldiers with capes. Their obvious presence could be felt even in the images on the screen, commanding the semi large group of 15 soldiers.

"Cossack." The King said, thoughtfully watching the changing imagery.

"Do we know what they're carrying and what they were doing?" Lance asked Admiral Wade, the person who was explaining the situation.

"No. These images were sent in by a small team working in the outskirt provinces. Apparently these are the only images they could get considering the fact that they were outnumbered. They are hardly reliable now because these images were taken two weeks ago. Those two could be back at the Citadel by now. An educated base would be that they are building a base. Another could be there are doing reconnaissance on our own military." Wade responded quickly, very much annoyed by the Lieutenant's obvious disregard in questioning his superiors.

"Considering the time span, I would assume that they finished what they had to do and left. Currently there has been no increase in drule activity outside of the usual."

"Excuse me, Admiral. But I think you're brushing this aside too quickly." the Princess said, frowning slightly. It was apparent that something did not sit right with her. Her father was apparently not pleased as well.

"When have drule high generals led parties onto our soil, and leave empty handed? They always take slaves and destroy completely, but there has always been a reason to their actions. They usually do this from the comfort of their ships, correct? And for them to set foot on the surface with such few men…What did they take?" she asked him firmly.

"Your Highness, if I knew every little thing behind drule action, we'd have won this war by now. But unfortunately, I do not know drule psyche nor completely understand their actions. As I have said, this information is two weeks old." Wade responded, obviously annoyed by the princess's questioning. He did not like being seen as incompetent, and these brats seemed to always try and bring him down in the eyes of his peers. The atmosphere was undoubtedly tense, all the military leaders uncomfortable with the fact that they were missing critical information.

"The princess is right. This stinks to kingdom come. Those crates can't build swat. I mean, have you seen the size of their ships? And I can understand that we're having trouble with communications, but how can we beat these guys at their own game if we can't even speak to each other properly?" Hunk asked, upset about having to find this out last.

"Not everyone has a Pidge, Hunk. But still, it's troublesome." Hunter Mclain responded.

"Where did the information come from?" the King asked Wade, brows drawn together in obvious concerntration.

"Dispa, Sire."

"Serena." Lord McLain said quietly. "Then this isn't some fluke. There's something wrong out there."

The other military officers at the table nodded, considering that Lady Serena wasn't the type to complain. They had last seen her four years before as she'd holed herself up in her province completely.

"Then, at this table's obvious concern, I will send men to her to clarify on the matter." Wade said, placated.

"No." His Majesty stated firmly.

"You are an Admiral for the men fighting here, and such a matter would be too distracting, even for you. You are right that there has been a time since we've seen any activity outside of the normal pillaging, and for now, we focus our resources on what we urgently need done." The King said, gesturing toward the plans for their next counter offensive. Voices around the table raised as some were ready to protest, but the King raised his hand to quiet them.

" If we receive another message from Lady Serena, I will send one of you to verify the situation. Dividing our man power is not an option at the moment. Right at this moment, we should be multiplying our strength, and that isn't happening. I know we need all the military strength, especially when fighting aerial attacks. These four have been trained for that, but we cannot rely on only them. I am the first to admit that other provinces fell because we concentrated on ourselves as single units, something that our enemy has taken advantage of. What happened to Pollux will not happen here or anywhere else. And for that, we need to know what's out there and as you've pointed out, find a way to improve communications."

"Pidge and Hunk, I leave all engineering issues up to you. Lance, help with the defence and possibly pick out any whom you think can be further trained and upgraded so we can improve in the air. We are failing to gain ground in our air fights and the amount of damage to our anti air weapons is massive. Deal with it. Allura, all diplomatic and humanitarian concerns I leave to you. Until the lions are united, that is all we can do." The King said in finality.

"Yes, Sir." they chorused.

...

"Now this sucks." Hunk whispered, grumbling as he shifted his ruck sack over his shoulder. Everyone knew that the big guy loved to eat. But his love of sleep equated to his love of food.

"I know. Blame it on the old men. Why the hell can't they do this during daylight hours." Lance responded, also upset about having been woken up just an hour after midnight. His patience was on an extremely short leash. As the four of them made their way through the dim caves to the landing dock of the underground shuttles, they were surprised to see the King and Lord McLain waiting for them in pajamas and slippers. If they weren't so tired, they would have laughed.

"Chic, old man. Very chic." Lance smirked at his father.

"You only dream of having such style, little boy." he responded, humor never far away, completely oblivious to his red hair standing in whichever direction on his head. The King on the other hand looked well put together, even though he was wearing pajamas.

"I'm not going to explain why you're leaving for Dispa contrary to what i had told you in the meeting. You're all smart enough to know why." the king said, eyeing each one of them in the eye. He stopped for a bit longer on his daughter, conveying the hidden message again.

Traitors.

"The jamming signal Pidge installed will protect this transport until you are within a kilometer of Lady Serena's bunker. No one here will be able to communicate with the outside until this signal has been turned off for your own safety and in order for us to figure out who's tampering with our communications. Pidge will do it. When this is done you will contact us when it's safe to do so. They won't expect you, so some mistrust is to be expected. Even some resistance."

"Keep your eyes on the ground and be careful whom you trust. Not everyone likes the royal family or the choices that have been made and you might even fight defectors and spies. It's someone else's turf, Lance. So behave." Lord McLain added.

"It'll take you about five hours, so rest up. And good luck." the King said as the four buckled themselves. After closing the hatch, Lance programmed in the coordinates and off they went, unknowingly to a fated meeting...

...

A man shot up in his bed, heart pounding ferociously from the nightmare he'd just had. Brushing damp midnight black hair from his face, he slowly stood up and made his way to the bathroom. Splashing cold water onto his face and bare chest, he willed the distant memory now nightmare from his head.

"Why now?" he asked himself quietly, meeting his own obsidian eyes in the mirror. His heart still ached from the searing pain he felt the day he lost his father, and at 20 years old, the pain still tore him up in his darkest moments. But never had a nightmare been this repetitive or severe.

"Why now? It's been years since dad died. Why am I dreaming of that place?" he asked himself. He went back into his room and sat on the bed, running his fingers through his hair in agitation. Finding no hope in getting any sleep, Keith put on his combat camouflage uniform and left for the command center.

"You're well on your way to becoming an insomniac, my friend." Sven said as he turned to his friend.

"Didn't you get the memo? I was always an insomniac. The very sound of my boots haunts these hallways."

"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. Even for you.", Sven said giving his long time friend a very pointed look. His sleepless nights were beginning to wear him down and it needed to stop, considering they could be called out to fight at anytime.

"What's eating you, Keith? Don't give me trash like 'nothing, I'm fine' because it not cutting it."

Keith would have shrugged the question off if not for the exhaustion he felt both physically and emotionally. Sven had been his best friend for years, and they'd gone through hell and back together in this war.

This war.

Sven watched different emotions play on his friend's face, subtle enough to barely be recognized by those around him, strong enough for Sven to recognize the slight nuances.

Doubt. Fear. Sadness. Extreme sadness.

Emotions uncharacteristic of the unshakable leader of the Crimson Guard.

"It's a part of my past." Keith said quietly.

Sven hid his surprise for a moment because he didn't expect to get an answer. His friend was adamant that his past remain that, the past. Asking him usually led to him completely diverting the conversation or a cold, frigid stare. Once it almost got him beaten to a pulp. Since it was just the two of them and the answers were coming, he decided to dig more.

"Before you came here?"

A stiff nod was his response.

"Just before I was found I had a normal childhood. Before it all went to hell, that is. My dad used to read this book to me. A heavy black book . He said it was passed down in my family and that everything i needed to know was in that book..." Pacing the floor of the command center, Sven watched as his friend's agitation grew.

"Everything you need to know about what?" Sven asked cautiously.

"My life, my family, my dest... Never mind, I sound like a nut case." Keith said dismissively.

"OK. So you can't sleep because of a book?"

"No! Why do you think it was the fucking book Sven? Don't you understand..."

"No I fucking don't because you've always avoided the topic about your life before you were four. You've always told me to act like it isn't an issue, but obviously it is!" Sven snapped back.

Sven watches his friend's internal struggle reflecting on his face as he paced the control dim control room they were in. He watched him drag his fingers through his already unruly hair. All tale-tell signs of his high frustration level.

"What the hell happened to you, Keith?" Sven asks quietly, unnerved by his friend's condition. Keith stops pacing and leans on the wall before slowly sliding down to sit on the floor, hands still tugging his hair. He sits there so quietly for a while and if not for the steady rise and fall of his shoulders, one would have thought he'd fallen asleep.

"When I can't read it," he continued "he looks at me with such disappointment Sven. I've never seen that look on his face. Then the chair we're sitting in seems like it's been teleported from the library and then we're sitting in the middle of this scorched, burned, lifeless land marred by craters and flowing lava. The sky is pitch black, so black that there are no moons or stars. Just nothingness. And there's this pit right in front of us. There are countless bodies in this pit, rotting and freshly laid copses, one of them a broken body of a blond blue-eyed woman, the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. And she's just lying there, lifeless. Looking at me. When I look back and beg my father to help her, I see him lifeless too before the chair starts falling into the pit, and I'm screaming so loud as I'm swallowed up by those bodies."

Sven watches his best friend as he stretched out to sit helplessly against the wall. The helpless empty look in Keith's eyes was as frightening as the dream he'd told him. Sven didn't know why, but he felt a shiver run through him.

"Do you know the woman?"

"No. I don't. I don't know why, but i have a feeling I should. That whatever this dream means is tied to her as well. We're connected somehow." Keith said quietly.

"What are you going to do? This woman may already be dead or she doesn't even exist and its likely you may never meet. She could just be a metaphor for something, like light and darkness, you know all that stuff Aunt made us read. It could be residual memories of your mother. Or it might all be in your head, my friend."

"My mother had my eyes. She died after giving birth to me, but my I saw her portrait a lot and my dad talked about her extensively. It's not her." Keith responded lifelessly, eyes looking ata Sven but completely unfocused on him.

 _"What are you going to do?"_ a deep baritone asked in his head

 _"What I've always done. Move forward."_ Keith responded subconsciously to the voice he'd now deemed his subconscious. If anyone knew that he had conversations with himself in his head, he'd have been locked up a long time ago.

"Hey,Keith!" Sven shouted,a worried look on his watched his friend for a moment, eyeing the man he'd called brother for years, realizing that he hadn't heard a thing that Sven had said completely.

"I need to get that book. And I'm going to need your help." Keith resolved determinedly, standing up informing his friend

Sven gulped as he recognized the determined gleam in his friend's eye.

...

Princess Allura woke up to the beeping of the of their locus indicator warning them of their impending arrival. After buckling down for the trip, they'd all taken turns keeping watch as the others slept that they were heading on the proper course.

"Morning, Princess." a chirpy Pidge greeted her. He was switching off the indicator and tampering with another gadget.

Lance and Hunk were snoring away in their seats, oblivious to their surroundings.

"How long before we get there?" She asked him, securing her ponytail.

"Well, we're at the 1km borderline, so they should have notice of our arrival. If they recognize our codes and don't stop us, we'll be stopping in 14 minutes." Pidge responded expertly.

After waking up their two team members, they watched as the shuttle came to a stop in front of two very large blast doors before they opened slowly. The shuttle continued on before stopping two more times at similar blast doors before they finally saw a landing platform with two dozen or so armed men.

"Paranoid much?" Lance snubbed, eyeing their welcome party.

"We'll see whether they're friend or foe. Remember, no one attacks unless they do." Princess Allura said firmly. As they watched, the soldiers snapped into attention as a slim, tall, silver haired lady stepped to the front with a group of elderly gentlemen. Princess Allura let out an audible sigh of relief as she visibly relaxed. Opening the hatch and quickly jumping out, much to her comrades' surprise, she ran into the lady's arms.

"My, how you've grown!" the older woman exclaimed at the beauty in her arms. The men on the platform visibly relaxed as they sensed no threat from their visitors.

"Aunt, I missed you." Allura told Lady Serena. Aside from her Aunt Orla and Nanny, this was a woman she valued and modeled herself after. She had always admired the strength of the woman in front of her, strong enough to argue with the most powerful men she knew, gentle enough to open her heart to countless orphans she cared for.

"And I you, my dear. But let's do this properly."

Lady Serena took a step back and curtseyed before the Princess in proper court fashion, keeping her eyes lowered as she greeted her monarch.

"Welcome to the province of Clarion, your Highness. The people of Dispa and beyond are honored and humbled by your visit. May the blessing of the House of Ariella grace us during your visit." The other men all bowed after their Lady.

"Please rise, Lady Serena. Thank you for warm welcome and it is I who is privileged to be here."

Lance glanced at Pidge and Hunk, who were also exchanging looks. Their little princess' lessons with Coran had definitely paid off. He would be so proud.

"Come, my dear. I'll introduce you to some very important people. These are the men are in charge of this bunker's safety. Admiral Garrison, Generals Aki and Graham, High Commander Hawkins and Captain Newley.

The five men all bowed to her highness respectfully.

"I'm honored to meet all of you. Thank you for all the hard work. Without you, we'd all be lost." the princess said sincerely.

"This is my company. Lance McLain, Darrell Stoker and Tsuyoshi Garrett. They are here to assist in any way possible at the request of my father and they all possess the heart of a lion, like me."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Well?"

Hagar scoffed quietly at the Prince and his excessive queries. Patience was definitely not one of his

strongest virtues and his impatience was hindering her focus.

"My Prince, matching the ancient texts to the locations of the beasts may take time. At the moment I

am working with incomplete records left before our incarceration into the abyss. Results may take

time."

The scowl of disgust on the usually handsome face of the Prince was enough to express his utter

displeasure at her words.

"Don't play with me, Hagar. You are the one that always told me about the folklore of our people and

over the years we've both realized that these are more than just fairy tales. My grandfather was a fool,

but he was a traditionalist, through and through. He would not lie about the Umbra, old witch." Lotor

fumed from beside her, blood boiling from the fury he felt at the witch's incompetence. He had been

waiting lifetimes for the opportunity to destroy their enemy and return to space to concur other worlds

and expand his domain.

"Are you still of use to me at all, Hagar, or is the air you now breathe wasted on a copse such as

yourself?" the prince asked dangerously. Hagar felt the atmosphere of the dim, candle lit, stoned walled

lab she called home grow increasingly heavy. Her cat hissed from the shelf of preserved carcasses, a

warning of immediate danger.

"Sire," she placated, "I do not doubt that the research on the Umbra is correct. Not at all. Your

grandfather's belief in the them is valid and supported beyond questionable doubt. King Rekon, your

ancestor and the greatest Emperor and warlord of our people dominated the Umbra and conquered

Arus before. This is your destiny, my prince. To resurrect the darkness of Arus and live his legacy to the

fullest. You will prevail where others have failed, my prince. All the galaxies will bow before your might,

my prince. I guarantee it with my life."

Lotor watched as the old woman bowed before him carefully for a few minutes. She was obviously

trying to save her head at the moment, and he was going to humor her.

' _Your words are going to lose meaning soon old witch if you fail to deliver. If you dare betray me that_

 _worthless life won't be worth a grain a dust. She wouldn't dare betray me."_ Lotor thought to himself.

"Explain yourself, then. And dare to leave out anything…"

"Thank you, Sire." She said hastily, cutting him off. " Thrack and Cossack returned with data matching

the possible locations as derived from stories and charts left behind. As you know, our race has never

acknowledged the value of keeping important documentation, only trophies, hence the problem at

hand. The data itself has pinpointed 210 different locations as being the place where King Rekon's body

fell after the defeat by Arus' first queen, Ariella. The Umbra themselves have been narrowed down to 54

locations if I take into account their size as stated in the records."

"If I were to go digging in all these locations I would be certified mad. Since you've narrowed down the

locations your magic would be enough to detect the actual location, is it not." Lotor stated matter of

factly.

"It would take a tonne of magic, which I do not have at my disposal. Which is why I relied on

conventional methods, sire." She added quickly when she saw that Lotor was going to start shouting

again.

"The fall of the second kingdom is significant because it has affected the flow of magic within the planet.

Arus' continual destruction is gradually weakening the barriers protecting the locations of the Umbra

themselves."

"I don't want to wait for the entire empire to challenge me for my right to the Umbra, witch. I cannot

wait until Arus has completely fallen to finally be emperor." Lotor retorted.

"That is why I have concentrated all efforts on finding your ancestor's body. Only a descendant of his

blood will be able to implant the nebula into his own heart and control the Umbra. For that we need all

the ancient Arusian documents you can lay your hands on, sire."

"Pollux did not yield anything except for that princess. Which leaves the Arusian castle which is under

siege by my father and the old generals at the emperor's command. They will not let me get thousands

of miles near the place." Lotor shouted angrily, kicking the old witch's workbench over.

"I may have a solution for your problem, my prince." A new voice said, halting Lotor's tantrum cold.

….

A phantom made its way inconspicuously through the shadows of the corridor of the now deserted

hallway. The cloaked figure was cautiously stepped in the blind areas of the cameras that are

continuously recording. Except for tonight. Convincing his friend to create blind spots in the security grid

was a law that he himself would have punished anyone of his subordinates for. But this was beyond

reasoning. It needed to be done. Passing through to the landing bay, he carefully stepped up to the two

patrol guards before quickly karate chopping both of them in the neck. As he threw his bag into the

open shuttle, he paused as he smelt the distinct scent of tobacco. A specific one that he grew up

smelling.

"Aki is going to be furious about that." Edward Graham said, pointing nonchalantly to the two

unconscious figures as he continued to smoke his cigar peacefully.

"And what's new about that. He's always furious with me." The cloaked figure said quietly as it

continued to prepare for departure.

"What? Is the infamous Keith Graham whining? Unbelievable. And I thought I'd brought up a man."

Graham replied sarcastically.

The cloaked figure didn't reply but instead turned around for a moment to look at his adoptive father.

Graham was no fool. He knew that something had been wrong with the boy for months now. Insomnia

aside, the haunted look that passed his obsidian eyes when he thought no one was looking told him the

truth. The man he'd raised was brilliant, courageous, a genius amongst his pears and a leader, if not a

rogue at times. He butted heads with his superiors more times than he could remember, but he had

won over the loyalty of men and women in the bunker although once he had been an outsider. His

military prowness and strategic genius had saved so many soldiers on the ground and the scars he had

proved his loyalty to them. Keith was not the head one of their elite fighting forces, the Crimson Guard,

for nothing.

'The scars on his body are nothing compared to the scars on his heart, though.'Graham thought to

himself as he caught the haunted look in his ward's eyes. Keith had never been one to open up and

share his emotions with anyone, a trait that both saved and gave Graham headaches at times. If he

needed anything Keith would come to him on his own. Or otherwise handle it on his own.

'Selfish brat.'

"I have to go. And I'm not sure when I'll be back." Keith said after a moment. His eyes were back to their

usual unreadable self. The ghost haunting him had disappeared and in its place was the fighter.

'Good.' Graham thought in relief.

"Strange. It seems as if you're telling me. Your Commanding Officer." Graham stated, emphasizing the

title.

"I am. "

"Hmm, I thought you'd passed puberty already, because I still remember your rebellious stage quite

vividly. Terrible times."

" _Why did you have to bring me back?! It's early out!" fourteen year old Keith shouted at his 'father' as_

 _they walked back to the bunker residential quarters. His little ward was fuming. And Graham couldn't_

 _care less._

" _Because what happens at those festivals after midnight isn't for your little eyes. You're still young and_

 _those genes of yours are trouble."_

" _I'm fourteen! Its old enough to do whatever I want!"_

" _Like hell it is!" Graham shouted back, finally losing his cool with the preteen._

" _I'M NOT READY TO BE A GRANDFATHER, NOR WILL I EVER BE!"_

"It's only old men that reminisce about the teen years of their kids. Really, old, men." Keith said, turning

to the shuttle, finishing the coordinates.

"Don't let them come after me. I need to do this on my own, or rather, if I'm right, there's nothing they

can do. Tell them everything if you have to. I'm tired of hiding either way and if I continue to stay

down…" Keith let the statement hang in the air between them. Graham didn't need any explanations.

"Don't insult me." Graham said sternly. "I'm not an idiot. I knew this day was coming. I know you better

than you might think, Akira Kogane and don't forget that. The one lesson that neither your father nor I

ever taught you was to say goodbye. And I won't start now." Straightening his posture to that of the

General he was, Graham barked out sternly:

"Good luck, soldier."

Somewhere else, in a desolate kingdom, deep in the shadows of the caverns underneath the desolate

earth, golden eyes flashed in anticipation.

And somewhere else, deep beneath the charred rotting earth, sinister, evil red eyes flashed in

awakening.

….

The Princess of Arus had always been the epitome of poise and grace in the eyes of her people. Why

they thought she was flawless was beyond her. She knew that she had inherited her mother's passion

and her father's temper. Those, she was working on and she honestly admitted that she still needed

work. In all her life surrounded by men, never once had she been intimidated by them. Or outwardly

shown her fear. That was her, or had been until two days ago.

Two days ago…

Having been settled into their quarters, the princess and her company were escorted through the multi-

level bunker, meeting the people of the province wholeheartedly. Joy emanated from everyone who

had never met her highness and the people were enthralled. The elderly blessed her and the young

children jumped up and down trying to capture her attention, others climbing onto the shoulders of

their parents to see her. The young men blushed when they caught the eye of their monarch, her beauty

enchanting them all. Much to the annoyance of some young women.

"I didn't think the outer provinces still had such fun loving people." Lance said after another dance with

another beauty girl. Lance, Pidge and Hunk were almost as popular as the princess, earning them the

attention of much of the female population there. Their meet and greet had turned into a festival before

they knew it.

"Or beautiful women, Lance?" Allura asked lightly.

"Especially the women!"

"And the food!" Hunk mumbled between bites, earning some brownie points with the cooks and

laughter from those around him.

"Everyone tries to make the best of the situation. You see, almost half of our population was lost

roughly eight years ago after the fall of the desert province." Lady Serena told Allura.

"I'm so sorry about what happened. No one could have predicted it at all. " Allura responded gently.

"It's alright my dear. All we could do was take in the survivors. We weren't hit badly because some

insisted on early entry before the others. "

"It was a wise decision on your part. Hunk's home in the desert lost over 89% of their population. When

you last came to the Castle four years ago, everyone felt like it was the end of the world. It still is

actually." Allura said quietly, sadness permeating her sweet voice.

"Allura child. I know a great burden has been placed on your shoulders as the Blue Lion, but you cannot

take it all. You can only do what you can and leave the rest for others. Tread the path that should be

yours and only yours and you will always find the truth. No one can tell you otherwise."

"But these people" Allura said, looking sadly at the overcrowded hall they were in, " They expect me to

save them, to give them the answers they need, the peace they yearn for, yet, I don't think I can. I try to

be strong, I really do, but it's getting harder to bear. How we're going to save this world with the lions, I

don't know. This sacrifice…It's all too much."

Lady Serena felt the pain and sadness that the young lady before her carried. It wasn't fair for such a

young thing to experience, let alone carry the hopes of an entire planet. She realized that maybe this is

why Alfor had sent his daughter to her. To take her away from such a large burden.

"That's it. Come with me." She said firmly.

Gesturing to the three men that Allura would be alright with her, she led the young lady through the

corridors of the bunker until she reached the door of her chambers. Inside, she went through another

hidden door through the wall and enters a vault-like room of enormous size. Inside was priceless

artwork, books, furniture, material, tools, toys, all indigenous to the province of Clarion.

"What is this?" Allura asked, enthralled by the massive collection.

"Our legacy. This is what everyone in Clarion chooses to leave behind for all those coming after us."

"Everyone?" Allura asked, gently picking up a handmade plush girl doll from the massive collection.

Overwhelming feelings rushed through her as she thought about her own childhood and her favorite

doll, Fluffy. For a child to give this up…

"Many people died after the first attack, and that day, we all realized how volatile we were. Even if we

fought, what future would we leave behind for those after us. Technology, industry, wealth, fashion

weren't the only things we were losing. Those could be replaced. They are probably going to be first in

line. But what about the toys children loved, the recipes we love, the music we dance to, the art, it

won't be replaced. That's why everyone placed what they loved here, not because of regret, but

because they have hope that they'll be needed again in earnest. These are people's hopes, Allura. This is

what they are asking you to carry."

By this time Allura was sobbing in earnest, clutching the doll for dear life.

….

"You know, when is said that this wasn't your burden alone I meant it in a different way as well." Lady

Serena said mischievously.

"Please don't make me cry again, Aunt. I don't think I could take another session of that." Allura sniffed

lightly, smiling slightly behind her tears as she followed Lady Serena out into the hallway.

"This one is light-hearted, I assure me…is there a man in your life?"

"Wha..Uh..a man…Aunty!" Allura stammered at what Lady Serena had asked, a slight blush gracing her

cheeks.

"I see there isn't." Lady Serena laughed at Allura's discomfort.

"With good reason! Nanny throws any Lord, Sir, Count, Duke, and any as close to either of the above

titles in my way!"

"I see Gretchen hasn't changed one bit. And your father says what about this?"

"Daddy runs away!"

At that Lady Serena bursts out laughing as she imagines Alfor getting a stern talking to from Nanny

about the importance of lace and sewing as important for a lady of the court.

"She hasn't changed one bit. She's dreamt of planning your wedding since you were a few hours old.

Your father has never stood a chance." Lady Serena said, trying to pacify the young woman in front of

her.

"Your father arranged for you to marry the prince of Altair, but he passed with the massacre of his clan.

But there is still another that you are destined to be with."

Allura paused and looked at Lady Serena suspiciously.

"Who?" she asked quietly.

Lady Serena readied herself for the outburst she knew was coming. Inevitably, she stated clearly:

"To the chosen of the Alpha Lion."

Allura almost laughed at the absurd idea of the possibility, the minute possibility that she would be

married off to one of her teammates. She would have laughed if not for the serious look on the older

woman's face.

"No." she said firmly, feeling frigid coldness wash over her from head to toe.

"Have you ever asked why you were arranged to marry the heir of Altair, or is it you thought that since

he was dead it didn't matter." Lady Serena asked her.

"I was told it was because they were a good family, that the previous Lord Kogane was on good terms

with father, Lance's father and most of the nobility honored the man."

"That is true. Hunter was actually the boy's godfather. He came to the Castle of lions in the first months

of your birth to celebrate. As gorgeous as his father too."

"Aunt, not you…" Allura asked in surprise at the older lady's comments.

"You've never met a Kogane, darling. If you had, you'd understand and wouldn't be complaining about

him, either. Anyway, the boy was said to have been chosen by the Black lion. And the reason why he

and you were set to get married was because the Black lion and the Blue lion are mated."

"MATED?!"

"Allura, ladies don't shout dear. Yes, mated. What that entails, I'm not sure since it's between the two

lions, but I know that since the lions were still beasts they were mates, and that they mated for life

before and after they chose vessels, yourselves as half of their souls. Your ancestor Ariella was widowed

when she was chosen by the Blue lion and her heart yearned for her husband and she never remarried

or had a relationship with the Kogane of that time."

"Why wasn't I told?" Allura asked, clearly upset at being left out of the loop.

"I assume its because you fiancé was no more and your father wanted you to choose on your own. It

also explains why he lets Nanny introduce you to different men as possibilities before the chosen of the

Black lion appears. He's putting your happiness first."

"Daddy" Allura said quietly, thanking her father in her heart for having so much love for her. She never

felt alone because she knew he was always watching out for her.

"You communicate with your lion and ask her about this. She will answer all your questions and more.

For now, let's go back to the party so you can dance with a few gorgeous men."

As they made their way back to everyone, they passed a group of men in the corridor huddled together

in serious discussion.

"Oh good. Talking about handsome men, come meet my nephew Sven. No amount of dance, music and

etiquette lessons could turn him into a proper gentleman. I blame his Holgersson blood."

Turning to the group that had now noticed their presence, Allura smiled politely at them waiting for

proper introductions. That was, until she saw him.

Her gaze halted as it scanned the one man that had taken her breathe away. Never in her life had a man

brought her thoughts to a screeching halt until now. Tousled midnight black hair crowned his head in

the most rebellious way, with a mind of its own covering his eyes from her keen, searching gaze and

landing softly around his strong neck. The front of her consciousness picked up he was dressed in a

standard black t-shirt, black cargo pants tucked into standard black leather boots, but the woman in her

wondered how that t-shirt managed to look so good on his muscular arms, chest, abs and shoulders. She

didn't know how he filled out those dark pants and made them look so good. As she lifted her gaze to

his face, she observed a sharp jaw, well defined cheeks, lips and nose under the golden hue of an

obvious tan from being outside.

A soldier.

But it was his deep, dark eyes that never left her that captivated her. They were darker than a starless

night, unyielding as they took in her own, the deepest obsidian that threatened to swallow her entire

existence up but promised the truth in their deep dark depths. She was drowning in them, and she

wanted to stay swallowed up by their promises. Allura's heart threatened to beat itself out of her chest

every second she kept looking inside those eyes.

That's why she didn't even notice that the floor had disappeared from beneath her feet, nor did she

hear the panicked voices that called out to her as her world went completely dark.

….

Now as she came out of the memory of her demise in the presence of the seductively hot man two days before, she wondered what she was going to do as the shuttle

started to move out of the landing bay to who knows where, with her hiding under behind the emergency blankets and kits, not knowing who she was going with.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **A/N: Thanks for the amazing reviews, you guys. I'll keep on it for your sakes. You're all awesome. Sorry for the late update. By the way, I don't own voltron.**

Keith slowly sat back in the driver's seat of the small shuttle as it glided smoothly through the long, dark earthen passages of the underground network. He allowed his head to loll back into the headrest as he allowed the pent-up tension he'd felt to slowly release as he slowly let go of it from his muscles, mind and heart. As he watched the tunnel walls pass by, he thought about the place he'd called home for the last 18 years. A place he needed to leave in order to protect.

Growing up amongst strangers hadn't been easy, considering what he'd experienced. Trusting the people of Clarion came after years of fighting internally against the belief that everyone was out to get him. For years after his father's death he'd questioned why the people around Aries hadn't come to his rescue or his father's. For years he'd despised their laughter, joy, and the happiness that crushed his heart day in and out. His adoptive father had said it before one snowy afternoon as Graham had walked up to him as he was watching a group of kids play.

 _Keith watched the balls of white packed snow fly between the two groups as boys as they tried to outmatch each other. Laughter, silly taunts and jeers filled the air as they continued to have their fun, undeterred by the freezing cold. He heard quiet footsteps shuffling the snow behind, getting closer and closer before they stopped behind him, but he didn't turn around from where he sat to know it was Edward Graham. Together they watched quietly as the boys continued to shout out cries and declarations of war at each other._

" _Why?" Keith asked quietly. "Why are they like this?"_

 _He knew he didn't have to explain as Graham understood for some reason what he meant to say without having to ask too many questions._

" _Do you mean why are they playing around in the snow? Or do you mean why are they so happy when you're not? Or why are they so happy when there is a war?"_

 _Keith remained quiet as his little seven year old brain tried to work through the ache in his chest. He was so sad it hurt to even breathe. But they…they laughed so much._

" _Well, it's simple really. They're playing in snow because it's fun. They don't know you're unhappy. And, they don't know what war is or means. But you do. Maybe you want them to know it like you did…"_

" _I don't! I don't, I don't…" Keith cried out, the suggestion impossible for him to think about._

" _You don't want them to be happy, or you don't want them to know war? Well, which is it? You're a smart enough kid to know by now that having them both is impossible." Graham said before he walked away._

 _Keith sat there for a hours as he comprehended what Graham had said. He sat there alone for so long, battling out his heart on that cold ice ridge that he didn't notice that most of the kids had left except two, Jeff and Sven, the two guys he didn't like since he'd started school. They hounded him, pestered him, and always said 'Hey stranger' to him, making it clear he wasn't one of them. As he watched, he saw Jeff run from solid ground and onto the frozen lake. He saw Sven hesitate until Jeff called him a wimp. As Keith watched he saw Sven run out some distance on the frozen ice and do a cartwheel. As he landed, Keith saw them both freeze as did he when the distinct sound of a loud crack echoed in the air around them before Sven started calling out to Jeff for help. Keith stood up from the narrow ridge where he sat and watched as Jeff turned around quickly and started running across the lake back to shore. As he did, more cracks appeared behind him, all converging at the weakest point. As Jeff made it onto solid ground and kept running back to town, Sven disappeared._

 _As Keith made his way toward the hole where Sven once stood, he heard Graham's question again._

" _Well, which is it?"_

 _He jumped into the frigid water without a second thought._

Keith sighed quietly as he thought of that day. He'd nearly died. Again, If it hadn't been for his adoptive father. But he'd made up his mind. No one deserved to feel the pain he'd felt. It was inexcusable for anyone to inflict it. After that, he knew he had to protect their happiness in any way he could. He didn't have power, or strength or wisdom. As the Captain of the Crimson Guard he'd faced the drules again on the battlefield and pushed them back with his men. Small victories that kept on mounting up until before he knew it, people depended on him for their safety. He didn't miss the irony that one of his childhood bullies was now his second in command whilst the other was his rival.

Keith closed his eyes as he sighed again. Things had changed because of her. In his mind he saw her again, a blazing golden river of hair, beautiful clear azure eyes filled with life and that had drawn him in, a welcome light to the nightmare he'd had of them lifeless, a pert nose, beautiful full lips and incredibly rosy skin. Keith felt his blood start a slow, languid burn as he remembered how beautiful she was, slim and beautifully curved in all the right places, her scent intoxicating. He could feel his body heat up again as it had in that corridor, a warm heat rising slowly rising into a deliciously dangerous inferno. He gasped soundlessly as he felt another answering his own burning need, threatening to consume him in that inferno.

His eyes shot open as he realized that the soft gasp he'd just heard wasn't his own, but had come from the back.

Getting up with swift, quiet movements, he reached the back seat quickly before pulling down the rest and grabbing the person in the small space.

"Let me go, you bastard! Unhand me!"

Keith dragged her to him, tensing for a moment as a knee caught his abdomen and another missed his most sensitive area.

"Stop fighting me and I'll let you go!" he raised his voice, losing his when he realized who he was looking at. But the wildcat in his arms showed no intentions of stopping, only fighting even harder. With his free arm he grabbed her around the waist and fell across the back seat with her under him, effectively trapping her.

"I said let me go! I won't let you have your way with me." She said as she strained to move, but the weight of the man above her had her imprisoned. Every self-defense lesson she'd ever had came to mind in a rush, but it was no use. She was trapped. And her fear was starting to rise higher and higher. Allura paused as she felt his hot breathe near her ear.

"Princess," he whispered in her ear, "if I wanted to 'have my way with you', believe me you wouldn't be fighting right now. Beautiful as you are, I want my women willing and very compliant."

When he felt her body lose all of its tension did he lift himself off her and onto his hands and knees, still keeping her marginally trapped. As much as he loved looking at the vision of her all flushed from their fight, he knew he was in trouble.

"Where are you taking me? Do you know it's treason to kidnap a monarch, punishable by death?" The princess asked him when she'd gotten her breathing under control.

"I know."

"Then turn back before it's too late."

"No."

"I'll plead your innocence when we get back. There's nothing the drules can give a spy that's been discovered. They'll throw you into the slave pits if they don't take your head first. "

Keith contemplated on the princess's words. They had picked up on communications anomalies, strange encrypted signals coming through unregulated channels at certain times. At first they had concluded that they were random channels. But their use after important strategic meeting or counter offensives proved to be too much of a coincidence. He had only narrowed it down to the brass, his commanders, generals and admirals his prime suspects. Without proof he could accuse no one. The signal proved untraceable with their technology, but the princess obviously knew of the spy network.

"So the spy network penetrated even the castle bunker?" He asked her, eying her carefully. She tried to hide the looks of confusion, then surprise as she tried to understand the question. She was an open book to him. And he'd gotten his answer.

"I never said such a thing. The spies are in that bunker…"

"You're a bad liar princess, so don't even try. It doesn't become you." Keith said, getting off her and returning to the driver's seat. After a moment she saw her through the rearview mirror as she sat up in the back seat. He saw her look at the coordinates, the steering, his discarded jacket and the hooded robe and the gun that sat on them. He watched as she worked out that even if she tried, she wasn't getting it.

"You're smart enough to know when you've been outmatched, your highness. Let's be civilized until we get to where I'm going." He said, effectively ignoring her since he needed to concentrate on the area around them. It would take five more hours to reach the end of the line, and the closer they got to it, the more dangerous it would be as they be in drule infested territory.

"Are they holding your family? Is that why you're doing this?" she asked him blankly.

"My family is dead."

"Your lover then."

"Lovers. Plural, your highness. I've had more than one. And no. They are not the reason why I've left home for the outlands. Now you answer my questions. How long have you been tracking spies?"

Allura bristled with anger at the additional information and more at the commanding tone he used with her.

"You should know your place. I have no reason to answer you, let alone even speak to you. A traitor to his people and race. A man who knows no honor or loyalty or love as millions die. A man who does not know what sacrifice is." She spat, thoroughly disgusted that a human could be so casual about selling out his own.

"And what place should that be? As a little spoilt brat who sits in riches, silks and gourmet cuisines as people flock around because of a stupid title that one can't even sell for a piece of stale bread? Or is it as the poster child of a war that we're losing because everyone is waiting for the 'chosen' to finally get their shit together? I'll tell you right now princess. You know nothing of _my place_ , two days ago before you met me nor in the future. Those titles you're so proud of, mean absolutely nothing to me. And don't you ever forget that."

The coldness in his voice chilled the small space they both occupied, causing Allura to fold her arms around her. The look in his eyes was ice itself. This man had meant every word he'd said just now. She'd touched on a sore subject when she became condescending with him. It wasn't in her nature to look down on people and she knew she gone too far, even if he was a traitor. As the small shuttle glided forward, all she could do was wait on her fate as decided by this man.

….

Zarkon watched the human that bowed before him with a completely blank stare. This said human he could not trust as far as he could stretch his own hand. He was a proud noble, completely unassuming on the surface except for his obvious flare in pomp. Under all the noble flare Zarkon knew was a vicious, cruel, sadistic human .For his people this trend was as common as kindness is to saints, but in a human, it was something extremely rare. He had watched as Aidan concerntrated, strategically skinning countless slave lords he'd considered rivals with surgical precision, all with a smile on his face. Aidan had wiped out Zarkon's enemies from within the citadel with such quick precision that even if the other lords of the empire suspected it, they had no proof. Zarkon had seen through the heart of this man when he'd first used forbidden magic, sacrificing a village of three hundred just to take a peak into the void sealed by the lions to see a drule. Fate had chosen Zarkon to be the man who would be the key to the freedom of their people. At 27, the young lord, under Zarkon's guidance, had set free the drule people from the void and onto the lands of their gatekeepers.

"Sire, I must apologize for the disturbance. But the matter is important." Aidan said, still bowing in front of Zarkon.

"It must be important since you've not sorted through the new group of slaves. Speak."

"Sire, I would request that you allow me to return to Altair. It is of grave importance that I must do." Aidan replied, raising his face to Zarkon.

"Altair is barred to everyone by order of the emperor. He intends to claim it as his trophy when he comes through the void with the rest of our people. What interest is it to you?" Zarkon asked suspiciously.

"My Lord. There is a matter of concern. The power to seal the void from where you came is from the magic of Arus, yes, but the key is in Altair. It may be wise to take control of the key until such a time as the emperor arrives. For security, of course."

"Is that treason I sense in that statement, you dog?" Zarkon hissed. "The lord of our empire is the Emperor, ruler of all. And you would have me betray him, you punk?" 

"Forgive me, my King. That was not my intent at all. What I meant was the removing the knowledge from there so that it may not be used against us. The lords of Altair passed down knowledge to their successors and my conclusion is it is still there. Vulnerable for the taking."

"The knights of the Black lion were not so stupid. There must be certain requirements for such strong magic and they would not leave it around for anyone to take. No one is to go anywhere near Altair."

"Even the Prince, my King? For not more than 6 hours ago did he, the witch and a group of soldiers depart heading there. "

"What!" Zarkon roared, sending his servant scampering for cover.

"First Pollux, now Altair. Who does that ingrate think he is?!" Zarkon yelled, sending his wine table toppling. Rage filled him as he worked out what his son was trying to do.

"If that brat gets a hold of that seal, we bid the empire goodbye. He's a fool with power and it's time I put him in his place before he destroys me. Prepare my ship! We leave before the other kings figure out what the boy is up to. I won't allow an ingrate like Lotor to steal from me my kingship."

As Zarkon passed the still kneeling Aidan, he failed to see the smirk on the human's face.

…


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 **A/N:** Thanks for sticking with me guys. I realized something when writing this story:

It's not easy choosing between character development and continuing the plot. Keith's character has to develop more before he becomes legendary, that's why his past teammates and the people who know him are going to play a part in that.

I've already reached chapter 8 and I'm still developing him, so let me know what you think. Should I focus more on his character or do you prefer I just get on with the plot.

Thanks! Read on.

Again, I own nothing.

…

"I wonder if she was worth it?" Shannon asked from his cell across from Sven's, throwing his ball on the wall in front of him before catching it.

"What do you mean 'if'? She is the princess after all." Rocky answered through the bars of his own cell, trying to get some sleep as it was so late, but finding it impossible with the racket from the others.

"Honestly, I was kinda surprised when she fainted before. I mean, that's a new one, even for the Keith. Women literally throw themselves at him, but falling into his arms is a first." Shannon said, chuckling at the memory.

The men in the cells laughed, continuing to joke around as if they hadn't been incarcerated for treason by the very people they protected. The dim yellow lights of the prison area flickered a bit, a few insects dancing dangerously around the hot glass, unknowingly seduced by the brightness they saw. Shadows danced along the cold, harsh stone walls, contrasting the light jovial mood the Crimson Guard were in. It was 12 hours since the arrest of the 24 men that made up the elite team on charges of treason, kidnapping and conspiracy by Lady Serena and the brass. It also didn't help that their general was the prime suspect and was the one who had facilitated Keith's unreported departure from the bunker. Apparently with the princess in tow.

From his shadowy cell, Sven lay as he listened to his men as they discussed possible reasons for Keith's sudden 'eloping' with the princess. Kidnapping too harsh of a word to use to describe their law abiding, sometimes by the book leader.

"Well, the Noblesse finally got one up on us, those sissies." Another soldier snorted from way back in the distant cells.

"Aki is probably jumping for joy at the opportunity to hunt Keith down. He's been waiting for a chance to prove himself to the crown. Now he's got it." Shannon added, his deep Irish accent mocked at the statement.

The Noblesse, the antithesis of the Crimson Guard were a squad of soldiers from rich families, children from titled families and land barons who joined the army for the sake of looking good in the army uniform, and more importantly, for the opportunity to climb up in rank so they could get closer to the key players in the kingdom and away from direct danger. Unfortunately, breed doesn't follow talent, a lesson they had to learn countless times as the Crimson Guard had to save them on missions they'd botched time and time again. What Keith's men lacked in pedigree and class, they made up for in boat loads with courage and heart. Most of his men were troublemakers, expelled army soldiers who were too wild to conform to the strict standard of basic protocol. Most had been deemed unworthy, only able to die young as they were too unconforming. One incident changed all that and their heroism was recognized, although skeptically. But who didn't love a rogue?

"Everyone knows that Jeff's dad has been grooming him for nobility for years. The princess's disappearance puts a wrench in his plans big time. Did you see how he manipulated that the Noblesse would hang around her since she came?" Shannon asked again.

"Maybe he isn't grooming him for nobility alone." Sven said quietly, mind working smoothly, filling in the missing pieces. Everyone was paying attention now since their vice seemed to know something. And his hunches usually were right.

"What do you mean by that?" Shannon asked quietly, interest piqued.

"Think about it. There are countless numbers of men that the princess can choose from to be her husband. Nobles of higher standing and higher value than the Aki family."

"Like yourself." Rocky added quickly, reminding everyone of Sven's noble bloodline.

"Yes. Or even higher. Basically, in this race he stands no chance unless the princess really likes him, or even loves him. That's why his father wanted him to be close to the princess at all times and he hasn't ever pursued a relationship with Lisa."

"Jerk." Someone said quietly.

"And then there's the second card he's willing to play. He wants Jeff to be one of the chosen." Sven said assertively.

"Seriously?" Shannon asked, suddenly shocked.

"Yeah. It's the biggest gamble he can make and if he wins, his greatest doorway to everything he'd ever wanted. Money, prestige, upper nobility, I mean you know how legendary the lions are. Even the princess then has to acknowledge him."

"But there's no guarantee that will happen right? I mean, it's Jeff, selfish, proud, loud-mouthed Jeff who runs his mouth a lot. Right?" Rocky asked, trying to slay his doubt about the uneasy feeling he was getting.

"There's no guarantee of that happening, Rocky, so relax. That is actually the problem isn't it Sven?" Shannon answered, trying to calm the others' apprehension.

"Yes." Sven said after a while. "The reasons are simple actually. According to legend there are five lions, which means there are five chosen souls of these lions only. Secondly, we don't know how these souls, the other halves are chosen. This is the first hurdle he has to overcome to get Jeff in. The other is how much sway the monarch or the people have on the lions and the chosen. This he's tried to mitigate by having Jeff join the military and not associate with the lower class. I really think he's narrowed down that the chosen are descendent from nobility or are current nobility. Keeping an eye on all the nobles in this place means he can spot it when it happens.

"To eliminate that person?" Rocky asked quietly, unnerved by the news. The others were quiet too.

"I don't see him making his obstacle his friend, buddy. It's impractical." Rocky said.

"Not necessarily a friend. But a tool. He wants to control that person. Make him or her a tool for his own ambitions." Sven clarified to all of them.

"As much as I don't like it, it makes sense. If he can't beat them, why not put them on a leash. Wonderful." Shannon snorted, totally disgusted by the idea.

"Let's hope that lion has a brain, cause I really don't want to put my life in Jeff's or his father's hands. We'd never live it down!" Rocky said, imagining Jeff laughing maniacally.

"Before that, let's hope the Chief comes back soon. I had a few dates lined up and the food here is aweful. And why the hell did he tell you only? I would've gone too." Shannon complained.

"He'll be back. Keith always keeps his word." Sven said confidently, turning on his side in the narrow bed before dozing off.

…

Lance sighed quietly as he slumped in a vacant chair in the conference room where he'd just finished talking to the King.

"That bad, huh?" Pidge asked as he entered the room, seeing Lance uncharacteristically down.

"He chewed me out, spit me out, then had my father run over me before setting me alight. It was wonderful." Lance said sarcastically.

"Better you than me any day. I just came from the interrogation room. They're done with the questioning, for now."

"And nobody said anything, right?" Lance guessed.

"How did you know that? You weren't there the whole time. Did you send in Red?" Pidge asked, quite surprised at the prediction. Lance acted like an idiot most of the time, but he was quite observant of people. His sense about people was usually spot on. The ladies did throw him off quite a few times though.

"Their faces. All of them. They are loyal to that old man Graham and they are loyal to his son. You don't have to ask whether they know anything or not. It doesn't matter because they would rather die than sell out one of their own. And I think they don't know anything either." Lance said.

"They should care about what happens to them, Lance. They have people who care about them waiting. A few are engaged even. I think we should ask their loved ones." Pidge reasoned.

"The student does not understand what the master sees, no matter how many times its shown to him." Lance said cryptically.

"Did you just call me dense, you jerk?" Pidge bristled, angry that Lance still treated him like a kid despite all he'd gone through. Especially since the loss of his twin.

"Not at all." Lance said seriously. " You should remember that soldiers don't share intel with their families and loved ones because of the risks involved. Meaning, that's a dead end too. What you can't see is something else."

"Which is?" Pidge asked, slightly pacified.

"They are loyal to the core. Such loyalty is hard to build in any group, especially one being bombarded by drules constantly. This isn't blind loyalty at all. It's deep trust despite overwhelming circumstances, earned and not forced. You've seen it every day too." Lance answered him.

"I have?" Pidge asked, slightly confused.

"Yes. In the people's faces when anyone talks about the king."

Pidge's confusion cleared as he remembered the faces of the soldiers they had interrogated and realized what Lance was saying. They showed no fear, just resolve at the situation. Or was it because of the person? General Graham was the only one who seemed very relaxed through it all, laughing even. But he hadn't said anything useful.

Hunk then marched his way into the room with one Captain Jeff Aki who had been quite helpful in the search of the Crimson Guard's rooms.

"We picked apart every room, especially the general's and his son's, but we've found nothing. No clue. No plan. Not even the slightest shred of torn paper. All I know is they're pretty neat and disciplined. Not frivolous. Well, except for the general's 50 year old whisky and some fine cigars. Otherwise, zero. Nada."

"Thought so." Lance said, looking at Aki for a second. He once saw a ruffled peacock once, prancing around in the gardens of a place he'd gone to visit as a child. This same look is one that Jeff Aki had. He didn't like him at all.

"Wait. Did I miss something?" Hunk asked, surprised by Lance's cool attitude towards the news. He expected curses at least.

"Nope. Nothing at all. All that's left is to get some rest. We've been at this since 3 a.m. Everyone to bed. We can find a new start in the morning, preferably not too early." Lance said, yawning loudly and not even caring about Jeff's raised brow at his behavior.

"And also, Captain," he said as he was leaving his shocked team mates in the room, "have all the suspects released. Now."

"What?!" three shocked raised voices shouted in disbelief.

"You heard me. I'll talk to her ladyship on my way to bed. I want them all free in five minutes. Sleep tight." Lance said, leaving a flustered Jeff. Hunk and Pidge were rendered speechless.

Lance arrived at Lady Serena's command before entering without knocking. She looked tired and he felt absolutely bad for her. The princess' disappearance under her watch was the last thing she'd expected, let alone a family member and close friend being involved. She was sitting with her generals, discussing their next move.

"Lieutenant, I've heard the reports. We were discussing other options at getting Allura back. Sending out search parties is a start." Lady Serena told him.

"Also we've discussed that we may have to engage in a rougher form of questioning. Simply asking at this point has proven futile." General Aki stated clearly, his implied meaning obvious.

Torture.

"I've decided that that isn't necessary, sir." Stopping himself from showing feeling of utter disgust at the thought. This was how he treated one of his own, huh?

" Everyone has had a long day and I think we should all rest. Later tomorrow we'll convene and think of a way out of this mess. And I request that all the men arrested be released immediately."

"What?!" people shouted and hissed at the suggestion, obviously insulted. Lady Serena was just shocked.

"I've decided that all the suspects be released. They are no threat and are of no use since they don't know anything." Lance reasoned.

"And who gave you the right to make such a decision in this case? Her ladyship or us?" General Aki snarled, anger brimming from him in waves. The other men at the table were no better, all ready to pounce at the suggestion.

"We will handle this situation as WE deem fit. No one will be released until we know the exact location of her highness and that bastard child that took her." One older man said in full support of Aki.

"The fact that I'm the princess's superior officer, for one. The second is that I talked to her father, the king and the admirals back at the castle and they told me to deal with this as I deem fit is the second. Thirdly, there is no reason to hold them for no wrong doing. And lastly, whether someone goes missing or not won't stop drule from attacking us. As I heard from you all, those guys happen to be your elite, which means they're still very much needed for the sake of the greater good. I personally want to work with them too. That is my _right_ as you put it."

Lance almost laughed at how ridiculous General Aki looked, swollen and red faced from all the rage he felt.

"HOW DARE YOU INSOLENT BRA…" General Aki didn't finish his sentence.

"We'll do as you say, Lieutenant." Lady Serena said, firming her expression until all opposition was silenced. Only looks of disbelief and rage could be seen, but no one dared to say anything.

That's one scary lady, Lance thought to himself as he bowed to her before leaving for his room.

Somewhere in a dense dark forest…

Allura's small feet trudged through the dense undergrowth of the forest floor, trying to secure her footing in the pitch blackness of a moonless night. She had given up on glaring at the back of the stoic man in front of her as exhaustion had set in, the cold of the drizzling showers and apprehension numbing her mind and emotions. Her path was getting darker and darker, her mind unknowingly shutting down her weary body to the point that when she lost her footing for the umpteenth time, she didn't correct herself as she let her body fall forward.

She felt the warmth of a pair of arms catch her instead of the cold ground before her and she allowed her mind to shut down in relief. She heard his gentle words before she fell asleep.

"You've made it a habit of falling into my arms, hime. I've got you."

…

 **Translations:**

 **Hime – Princess**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

" _Keith, wake up young one."_

Keith heard a soft feminine voice call him from deep within his slumbering mind, too exhausted by the day's events. He didn't know how he'd fallen asleep and he was too tired to care considering the many sleepless nights he'd had.

" _I know you can hear me. Wake up."_

Keith dragged himself from the deep slumber he'd been in, only to see that he wasn't in the forest where he and the princess had rested that night. In fact, she was nowhere in sight.

Jumping to his feet, Keith scanned the area around him, only to realize he was standing barefoot on the shore before a very wide blue sea. The water flowing around his legs was so clear that he could see the soft, white sand for meters around him. The sky above him was so blue, azure, with only a few white clouds dotting it here and there. He had never seen a sky so clear in his life, nor a place more peaceful.

"I'm not on Arus." He breathed, suddenly feeling panic rising up within him.

" _Oh, but you are."_ The soft voice said again, a hint of amusement detectable in its tone.

"Who are you? Who's there?" Keith asked, pulling his blaster from his side, only to realize it wasn't there. In fact, all his weapons were gone.

" _Calm yourself, you don't need to defend yourself from me. I'm your ally and I will never allow any harm to come to you, for her sake."_

Keith turned around to look for the source of the voice, and what he saw took his breath away.

A blue lioness sat a few feet away from him, sitting on her hind legs, observing him. Her coat was as blue as the clear water in that sea, he could tell it was soft to the touch as it danced in the soft breeze that blew along the beach. She was poised and regal as she sat there and she was larger than any lion he'd ever seen, but she was utterly breathtaking.

"I…Uh…I…"

"It's alright. I'll never tire of the expressions humans make when I appear before them. It never gets old. I am the Blue lion of Voltron. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you my actual name for that is only known by my human half, my soul as your people put it. But you can refer to me as Blue. It is an honor to finally meet you, Akira Keith Kogane."

"You know who I am?" Keith whispered, still trying to get over the shock of meeting the lion.

"Of course, young prince. It would be sacrilegious not to know your name. Your bloodline is tied to Voltron, after all.

"Where am I? How did I get here? And where is the princess?"

"One question at a time, my prince. I will answer what I can, although I will get in trouble for speaking to you first. But my curiosity got the better of me. Your consciousness is linked with mine at the moment. I have brought you to this place because I wanted to meet you and speak with you concerning my cub, Allura. And yourself."

"What do you mean, I don't get it. You're her lion and you're appearing to me. Does she even know that we're talking like this?" Keith asked her.

"No she does not, and even if she did there is not a thing she can do about it. Like I said, your bloodline is tied to Voltron, meaning that any one of the lions can appear before you. It is your destiny and a fate we share. Five souls and five lions."

"My father always said the same thing, but I never understood it. Why do you need souls when you're obviously so powerful?"

"Because the power we have by itself corrupts completely. Power by itself differs in its form not by its nature but by its use. A lion without a soul is hollow, empty, corruptible."

"How can you be corruptible? You're the guardians of Arus, the light of this planet." He asked, perplexed by the statement.

"Yes, we are, but we are not perfect. Every light battles the shadows it creates, Keith Kogane. Just as you battle the shadows of your own past, so do the lions. So does Arus."

Keith tensed at this, remembering his own painful past.

"And the shadows that you've created…"

"Are the reason why you dream such horrible dreams. I will be clear, young prince, you are destined to protect Arus from the darkness threatening to consume it. If you fail, Arus, and Allura will die."

"Why do I see her in my dreams? She's always in them, but she's dead. She haunts me."

"It is proof that the darkness is spreading. It wants to consume you to insanity until you can no longer tell the difference between reality and fiction. If that happens and you give in to it, Arus will fall. Allura is your anchor." She ended cryptically.

"My anchor?"

"Yes. What's expected of you is great and you will need support. The hurdles that you will need to overcome will rely on the both of you. To what extent, depends on the both of you."

"No offense, my lady, but that princess of yours is a spoilt brat. Naïve, if you ask me. Too focused on how she can prove herself in this big bad military world full of men. She's abnoxious." Keith scoffed, slightly offended that the lion before him would even suggest him partnering with the princess.

"I'll help her out when it comes down to it, she's the monarch after all, but you've got it all wrong when you say she's my 'anchor'. _She_ needs it more than me."

"Men are all the same, aren't they." The blue lion laughed quietly. Keith had stubbornly folded his arms across his chest, a slight scowl on his face as he stood there defiantly, refusing to accept her words.

"As you wish, my prince. As I said, its up to you, Allura included. Who am I to interfere in a lovers' spat. I have my own male to deal with."

"Hey, we're not lovers!"

For a moment, just a moment, Keith thought he saw the lion _smirk_ at him. Impossible, he thought to himself. All this was impossible.

"We're almost out of time. Remember what I said, my prince. This is your destiny so do not doubt yourself. If you are ever in need, trust the others. We'll meet again in the physical realm soon. And a word of advice, when you meet him, show your true self. If you cannot, everything will be lost before it's even begun." The blue lion said as she was fading from sight, the light from the fading sun passing through her.

"Wait! I still have questions!" but she was already gone, leaving him with these words:

"He'll give you all the answers you need."

…

Keith woke up with a start, the light of dawn lighting the area around him where he and the princess had settled for the night. His gaze landed on her figure kneeling beside him, startled still by his sudden alertfulness, hands on the blaster on his hips still in its holster.

He jumped at her just as she jumped back, attempting to pull the blaster free and they both rolled onto the ground, the blaster flying from her hands and hitting the floor near the open wall before going off.

"What the hell are you doing?" Keith demanded, struggling to grab her fists that were beating any place they could reach.

"Get off me!" she screamed, before kicking him between his legs. She scrambled to her feet just as Keith froze from the pain, cussing vividly, and ran towards the gun. She stood there, pointing it at him, breathing heavily from their little tumble, heart racing as she realized she finally had the upper hand on her captor. Her heart had nearly stopped when he'd suddenly woken up from a deep slumber, afraid that he would hurt her. Now, he'd give her the answers she wanted.

"Sit up. And don't try anything strange or I swear I will shoot you!" she said shakily, pointed at him.

Keith finally admitted it as he tried to sooth his ache.

He had the worst luck in the world.

He groaned as he uncurled himself, leaning against the collapsing wall behind him, hand still trying to soothe himself. Allura blushed slightly, but remained focused on pointing the gun at him.

"You're cruel, princess. And first thing in the morning too." Keith hissed quietly.

"Shut up. You only speak when I say so. Am I clear?" she demanded stiffly.

Keith watched her for almost a minute without saying anything, picking out at least seven ways of disarming her of the weapon in her hands in half a second. His gaze travelled up her lean toned arms covered by the long sleeved t-shirt, to her shoulders and other areas he shouldn't be admiring at all before going up to her face and disheveled hair. His gaze met hers and he couldn't help but admire the blazing blue fire in her eyes.

She was even more beautiful in natural light.

"I said are we clear?"

"Yes, princess." He resigned. Things may go faster for him if she felt she had control, he thought to himself.

"Who are you and who do you work for?" she asked quickly. The faster I deal with him, the better for everyone, Allura thought as she began her questioning.

"Captain Keith Graham of the Crimson Guards of Dispa. I answer to General Graham and Lady Serena."

"Not them, Captain Graham, if that is your name, but outside of our people. Who do you serve?" she asked again, moving the gun from his chest to his head.

"Nobody."

"Lies!" she yelled as she shot the blaster at the wall beside his head. Keith turned his head away as splinters flew up, avoiding the debris.

"Again. Who do you work for? You can't possibly want me to believe that you led me into the heart of drule territory for a stroll. Now, who do you work for?" she said, lowering her voice dangerously.

"Nobody, princess. And even if you shoot me to get at answers that don't exist won't make the facts disappear. I work for no one." He reasoned quietly. The princess caught his eye, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth. She shook her head to clear it of the doubt that she'd caught the wrong man and continued with her questioning.

"Then what are you doing out here? In their territory? Why aren't your men with you? And please, lie to me. I dare you. I'll put a hole in your thigh right now." She said, shifting her aim.

"You're trigger happy, aren't you?" Keith joked lightly.

"Shut up and answer my questions."

"I certainly can't shut up and speak at the same tim…" a hole appeared between his open thighs, black smoke rising out of the dark circle. He raised his head in disbelief as he looked at her, mouth open from the uncompleted word he wanted to say. She smirked at him before cocking her head cutely and raising her gun slightly from the burning target on the ground and onto his flesh. He didn't need to look at the barrel to recognize the mark.

And why did he think she looked cute when she cocked her head like that at a time like this?

"Any more smart remarks?" she asked sweetly.

Shaking his head, Keith realized that this was the first time a woman had rendered him speechless. She had balls, no pun intended, he thought to himself, highly impressed.

"Answer."

"I took personal time away from my duties so that I could go home to retrieve a family heirloom. It's very important to me. My men are still on active duty which is why they aren't here, with me."

"Your home is conveniently in drule territory?" she asked suspiciously.

"That's more like an accusation than a question. But yes, my homeland is just east of here."

"Then how do you bear Graham's name? My aunt told me that all her command are native to the province. But here you are."

"I'm adopted. He took me in when I was four years old. I'm an orphan."

"Then all the more reason to be suspicious. You could have been sent in as a sleeper years ago. You assimilate into a community, earning their trust whilst tearing down at their defenses until drule strikes. Its happened countless times before. Why should I believe you?" Allura asked seriously, weighing how much of the answers he'd told her were the truth. He had no obligation to answer her truthfully and could just have fed her lies.

"Firstly, when I left the bunker I thought I was alone. I had no suspicions that you were in the shuttle. Secondly, when I did find you, I did not harm you."

"You just forced yourself on top of me." Allura added tensely, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Because you wouldn't stop to listen to me. The same way you didn't stop before you tried to make me sterile a few minutes ago." Keith also added, annoyed. Allura tensed even more at the reproach in the statement but said nothing.

"I told you to take the shuttle back, and if you hadn't argued with me then you'd have been in your nice warm bed by now."

"Or I'd have been dead considering that the tunnel collapsed from the drule drones you shot down, rendering us stranded." Allura accused silently.

"I did save your life too. Add that to all the reasons why I'm on your side." Keith added smugly, smirking too.

"Allegedly." She said sharply.

"So now that we've cleared up all the questions, can you not point that gun at me. You might shoot me and call it an accident." Keith stated, gesturing below his waist.

"Don't tempt me. I still don't trust you." Allura was at a major disadvantage. She had no communications devices, no map, no food and water. She had no clue where she was whilst he seemed completely calm. Even if she shot him she might wander around for days before hunger and thirst killed her, or the wild animals, or even worse, the enemy. She knew that Lance and the others were out looking for her. Her father would even send out men. She winced for a moment as she thought about how worried her father would be. And furious. Oh, he'd be furious. Her options were limited. Either stick with this man or die out here.

Either way she needed to get a message across to her friends.

"Blue." She said quietly.

A flash of blue light illuminated the space they were in and then a blue lioness stood beside the princess. Allura didn't take her eyes off him as the lion appeared and was surprised by his reaction. For a second she swore she saw him stiffen as she called out her lion and his less than enthusiastic reaction at seeing one of the legendary lions annoyed her deeply and even angered her.

What's wrong with this man? She thought to herself.

"You summoned me, my dear." The proud lioness said, slightly amused by the situation. Her charge holding a gun at the man she'd just spoken with, who was determined to not look at her at all.

Men are all the same, she thought quietly.

"Why won't he look at you? No one has ever avoided looking at you, at a lion before. What's going on here?" Allura asked suspiciously, looking between her lion and Keith, who adamantly continued to look anywhere except where the lion was.

"We've met, dear. And I can tell you that his intentions are nothing but pure. Well, if you discount the primal ones of course." The lion said lightly, amused by the look of disbelief on her charge's face.

"You've _met? Him?_ " Allura said, gesturing toward Keith and back to her lion in utter disbelief. Keith would have laughed out loud if it weren't the gun she was swinging around.

"Why yes, princess. She and I have met. It was quite the conversation we had, but it is too much for your young, delicate ears. May I suggest that we do this whilst we're on the move. " Keith said, standing up and dusting himself off before checking the items in the bag by the corner. Allura just stood there frozen as she watched him, the tables having completely turned.

"We're not going anywhere until someone tells me what's going on here!" Allura exclaimed.

"We are. I think you're smart enough to realize the disadvantage you're in without me explaining it. Also we're in enemy territory and yesterday I blew up their scout drones. Meaning they'll be sending over the troops to investigate. Soon this area will be swarming with drules. We'll catch food and get water on the go." Keith said, picking up his abandoned cloak from the floor and his bag before stepping into the forest, leaving a smug lioness and her open mouthed charge behind.

….

"What's going on?" Shannon asked as he stood outside the interrogation room where General Graham was detained. The blaring alarm meant an imminent attack was at hand. As he turned toward the door, it opened allowing Lady Serena and a company of two older men he hadn't seen before to enter. They didn't acknowledge him as they went straight into the interrogation room where Sven was. Closing the door for them was Lietenant Mclain, who chose to wait with him and watch from the observatory window.

"Lieutenant Holgersson, stay as well. This might be of some interest to you as well as your men. Let the Noblesse deal with the attack." Lady Serena stated, all business as she sat down across from Graham with the two men flanking her. Nobody said a word for a few minutes, the atmosphere heavy from the tension.

"General Graham, I don't think you need an introduction as to who these men are. One is your mentor Admiral Garrison and the other the advisor to the King, Sir Coran Mailan. Anything you say here will be taken under oath as a soldier of Arus. Lieutenants Mclain, Holgersson and Sergeant O'Reilly will serve as witnesses that nothing was coerced, manipulated or staged. All are sworn to secrecy and will remain under oath at the King's command. This is your testimony before his majesty the King, after which there will be a court martial hearing. Have you understood all the above?" Lady Serena questioned.

"Yes, I have." Graham responded before Lady Serena opened a large screen on the wall. After a few seconds, it came to life as Graham came face to face with the King of Arus.

"You demanded high security levels for the information you are about to give me. It had better be worth it, Graham. The men in that room I trust my life with and Pidge has made sure that no radio frequency what so ever is passing through those walls. Begin." The King stated impatiently.

"My lady, Sire, my apologies if my demands seem extreme, but well, it's an extreme case." Graham started before he was interrupted.

"The severity of the matter we get, that's why we are here, instead of being at a forefront of a huge counter offensive against Zarkon's battalions. The largest this year. So please, to the point." Coran spoke quietly. The news of Allura missing had hit him hard, just like the King. She was like his own child and it took all he had not to strangle the man in front of him.

"Their target?" Graham asked, his features setting into stone as he felt apprehension about what he was going to hear, what he was hoping not to hear.

"The former kingdom of Altaire."

Sven watched as his commanding officer froze, before regaining his composure once again. It was obvious by the look on his face that he meant business now and that he wasn't going to mince words.

"Then all the more need for secrecy and speed. The story I'm about to tell you is true, down to the smallest detail. If you don't believe me, it's alright, because there's a greater force moving things around. Honestly, I failed to grasp all that's been happening as well. It is beyond me."

"What do you mean by that?" Garrison asked, curious about what Graham knew. He'd mentored him into a fine soldier, and the idea that he'd turned traitor sent him reeling.

"Over sixteen years ago before the war reached us I vowed to protect the child of a dying man I found in the forest. A boy. His son. The boy had been tortured and his father's injuries weren't usual. He'd been in a fight, and had lost. That child's name is Akira Keith Kogane. And the man who died in that forest was the last lord of Altaire and leader of the Black Lion Knights, Kiyoshi Kogane."

"You lie." The King said dangerously after a few minutes. This was the worst joke he'd heard in a very long time.

"I wish, Sire. Personally, I'd have kept my mouth shut until the boy came back to tell you himself but since he's going to meet battalions of drule soldiers with only a girl to help him, I think it best I speak up now." Graham scoffed.

"Isn't it convenient that you're giving us this information now in order to save your head? Where's your proof?" Garrison asked, doubtful.

"There is no physical proof except for Keith himself and the remains of his father, and don't ask me to show you where they are, they aren't yours to claim. Find the boy and you'll get your answers. As far as I'm concerned, I've fulfilled the promise I made to that man. The kid's on his own. Or with the princess at the moment." Graham stated.

"So we just have to believe you, take your word for it?" Garrison asked, now very skeptical, looking at Lady Serena whose face was completely blank at the moment.

"Sure. Or you can wait. When he first started talking to me as a kid he mentioned a man called Aidan, described him to a fault. He even left his signature on the boy's back. That's why he _never_ takes his shirt off in public. Am I lying, Lieutenant?"

Sven stiffly nodded as he found all the attention on him. He'd seen Keith's back once. Just once. He had questions until the war reached them, then he found out what torture was.

"I think if I were lying too, you'd have all five lions by now too. But you don't, do you sire?" Graham asked the King, who had his poker face on.

"Keith is unaware of this, but as a child he made references to Kuro whenever he talked about his past with me. I used to believe it was a place or something, my Japanese wasn't that good. But I put two and two together. Kuro is a being, a he. Around his seventh birthday after years of having vicious nightmares, they stopped, as well as his references about this Kuro. He hasn't mentioned him in over 13 years. Until a few months ago when the nightmares came back and there are now worse. His insomnia."

"And Kuro?" Lady Serena asked apprehensively. She knew Keith had been having problems. She hadn't imagined it'd be this.

"He told me he remembered he used to talk about Kuro, but didn't remember what it was. But I did my investigations. Kuro is Japanese and it directly translates into Black.

King Alfor didn't even blink.

…

 **A/N** : Thanks for the support you guys.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

They had walked for almost five days through dark forest, resting sporadically and uneasily as they were entering the heart of drule territory. As she walked behind him, Allura thought back to the last few days where she had been unfortunately forced to accompany him. He moved carefully through the terrain, familiar with all the pitfalls and clean water sources and had gathered food for them from what Allura thought where inedible plants. This piqued her suspicions even more, demanding her own weapon the second day they had left the cabin. She had demanded that he walk in front of her, leading the way to God knows where he was going. The glint in his eyes showed that he knew it was a defensive measure on her part in case he attacked her. His frustration at having another argument with her was obvious, and he relinquished the fully loaded weapon to her unquestioned and led the way, throwing Allura into a deeper pool of confusion. Blue had not returned to her charge's side, and it made her even more uneasy.

Allura thought about her mother, the former queen. She had been the light of her father's life, the source of his strength. Her strong sense of justice and compassion lit up the whole kingdom, giving resolve to all the people, a resolve that Allura realized she didn't have no matter how hard she had tried to emulate her. It never chased the sadness from her father's eyes or the lamentations of the people during this war. She had decided to be her father's daughter's daughter, the non-complainer, the strong princess that they needed. She was a proud warrior, and a proud daughter. She would never allow anyone to destroy what they had left.

Especially this man.

 _He's dangerous,_ she thought to herself. It was unmistakable. But she would never get a chance to get this close to the running of the drules, and she wasn't going to lose it.

Allura bumped into the captain's back, not realizing that he had stopped.

" Penny for your thoughts princess." His baritone asked as she straightened her flustered self, embarrassed at having been caught unawares.

"A penny wouldn't even cover what I think about you, _Captain._ " She retorted stiffly.

"Says the woman I've had in my arms twice now." Keith said smoothly.

He heard the woman behind him stutter in a very unprincess like manner. He smiled slightly, finding her company amusing despite his somber mood.

"We're here." He said, cutting off the princess' tirade.

Allura stepped around him and saw that he had stopped in front of a very large waterfall. In front of them was an enormous pool with clear water clearly showing all the rocks that had fallen that covered the base in the high midday sun.

"Where are we?" She asked, before she screamed as Keith suddenly picked her up and jumped into the cool water. She tried to fight against his strong grip, but he held her tight. As suddenly as they had entered the water, they were out.

"Easy." Keith said as Allura continued to cough because of all the water she had swallowed. She pushed the man away from her, trying to calm herself.

Keith stepped away from the princess, feeling slightly bad at having given her such a shock. But it had been the only way he could get her on the other side of the waterfall.

"Why did you…" Allura asked when she had gotten her breath back, only to realize that the captain was completely ignoring her, facing the impenetrable darkness ahead of them. The waterfall was behind them, how they had gotten across, she had no idea.

"We used an old escape passage built by my family. The only way I could get you across was to have physical contact with you. I apologize because of the abruptness."

Allura wanted to argue, if not for the somber tone he had used.

"I like water, Captain. Only when I'm not fully clothed." She said lightly, wringing out her drenched t-shirt.

"Don't give me any ideas, princess. You may regret it." Keith's sultry voice washed over her, igniting the slow burn she'd felt only with him. A gasp from her gave her away, making Keith turn fully toward her. He had no idea where the strong pull toward the princess came from. And at that moment he didn't care. He knew what he wanted and he took it. Allura didn't fight him as his lips found hers. She didn't stop herself from placing her palms on his wet torso, slowly dragging her hands across the ripples she felt through the wet t-shirt. She felt the heat of his body against her own, completely forgetting the inappropriateness of it all. And she didn't stop herself as a soft moan escaped her.

But it did stop him.

Keith ended the kiss and looked at the dazed woman in his arms. He slowly let her go before he turned and started heading toward the dark cavern, pulling on Allura's arm gently.

"Keith…"

"Not now." He replied.

He knew what she wanted to ask, what she wanted to say. But he wouldn't let her.

"Not until you know everything. Then we'll figure out what this is." He said, as he led her through the labyrinth in the darkness. Allura relented for the time being, knowing that she would get her answers, but trying her hardest to not doubt the man. She'd just kissed a potential enemy, and she'd loved every second of it. Suddenly she felt ashamed. She may have just kissed a drule spy.

She tried to release her hand, but his grip only got firmer.

"I told you that this passage was built by my family. Because of its enchantments it only accepts members of my family. If I let go of you now you'll bolt and I'll never find you. You might end up down there."

Keith flicked a glow stick he had and let it go. It fell into an abyss of darkness with no walls, rocks or crevices that Allura could see. It just disappeared into nothingness. Slightly frightened by the overwhelming void around her, she stopped fighting him as he continued to lead them, keeping her closer to him this time.

….

"Another hail from his majesty, my lord." The drule communications officer announced to the young monarch sitting in the command chair.

"Ignore it. And cut off all communication immediately." Lotor replied smoothly as he drank from his goblet.

"But my lord, the King…" the young officer did not finish his sentence, not in words anyway, as the only sound he was making were gurgling sounds as blood filled his throat and mouth. The cause was the prince's golden goblet, with its rim dented and now stuck in the left side of his neck. The young officer gurgled for a few more seconds before he stilled, slumping into his chair.

"Are there anymore suggestions or concerns about our journey." The prince said, looking around at all his officers, and the witch that was accompanying him. As silence was the only response, he went back to his chair, promptly picking up another goblet placed on his side table and taking a sip. He continued to read through the documents he now knew by heart, word for word.

"Have you observed anything new, my prince?" The witch asked, aware of how vicious the young man's mood was.

"Yes. You might say I have realized something of importance."

"What is it, sire." The witch asked lazily.

"Weakness. That what these humans and ourselves have in common is weakness. Our people were defeated by these lowly creatures not because they have a higher intelligence, or any special distinctive skill. But it is because we were weak. The emperor, the old kings and generals that we must bow to have eroded us, our greatness, into that of a myth to these insects. Why? Because they are _weak._ " Lotor spat in disgust.

"Story after story of our people's greatness. A kind known through nightmares. We were reduced to children's stories and may be reduced to worthlessness again by the old fools. However, I will not let it happen. I will conquer this empire on the bones and ashes of these insects. I will make every drule bow before me for I have no weakness, witch. I have not fallen like my father has. And the kingdom of our people's captivity will be my stage." Lotor resolved, watching the human soldiers make their way toward his intended target.

"I will show them I have no weakness. Is my package ready, witch?" Lotor sneered.

….

"Commander Hawkins, we've got the enemy on radar. 12 ships, sir. Heading East."

"It may be their advanced fleet. All crews, battle stations!" Hawkins shouted.

"Commander. Commence the secondary mission immediately." Admiral Garrison ordered.

At the all clear signal by their ship's launch officer, Lance said a silent prayer as he launched the Red lion from the docking bay.

"Let's go kitty cats!"

"Finally!" Pidge yelled through the radio, nearly drowned out by Hunk's resounding "Hell yeah!"

For the first time in over a millennium, the lions' roar was heard through the skies of Arus.

 **A/N: I'm back! School's been hectic but I'll try to update as often as possible. Thanks for your support.**


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